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HOW TO MAKE POTTERY

OTHER BOOKS BY

MARY WHITE

HOW TO DO BEADWORK
HOW TO MAKE BASKETS
MORE BASKETS AND HOW TO MAKE THEM

NEWCOMB POTTERY JUG

How to Make Pottery

MARY WHITE

Illustrated by the Author

NEW YORK

DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY

1904

30 1S04
Oooyrtfht Eiwrv

a,VM

Acknowledgment is hereby made to the Bureau
of American Ethnology for permitting the use of
the illustrations reproduced in Chapter XI.

{Co $$$ ^tt^banti

PREFACE

An art like pottery -making, which is nearly as
old as the human race, is naturally approached
with some degree of reverence. One thinks of its
old masters in various lands and ages — how they
were content to spend a lifetime in the study
and practice of it.

There is, however, another thought that comes
to mind — that this art, like every other, had to
have its beginning. Moreover, every potter, from
the primitive man who first realised that clay
which held water could be moulded into portable
vessels for a like purpose, to the artist potter of
to-day, has learned the first steps of the craft.

It was this thought that encouraged me to
study the beginnings of pottery, and that leads
me to offer this book to those who would also
start clay-working, with no other qualification
than the wish to learn how to make pottery.

CONTENTS

I. The Clays and Tools

II. Hand-made Pottery .

III. Working on the Wheel

IV. Methods of Decoration

V. The Glaze and How to Apply

VI. Pottery for Beauty and Use

VII. How to Make a Plaster Mould

VIII. The Making of a Tile

IX. The Kiln ....

X. Basket-Covered Pottery

XI. Indian Pottery .

XII. Modern American Pottery

PAGE

3
15

103

113

125

149

167

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

NeWCOmb Pottery Jug Frontispiece

FACING PAGE

Building a Piece of Pottery:

I. Making the First Coil. 2. Testing the
Outline. 3. Continuing the Piece . . \%y
Working on the Wheel:

1. A pale-green bowl for flowers. 2. A cream-
jug. 3. A flower-jar with two handles. 4. A

nasturtium bowl 38

Methods of Decoration:

1. A large fruit-bowl. 2 and 3. Low dishes
for candy. 4. A lamp-bowl . . . 38 '

Where Use and Beauty are Combined ... 68
Pottery for Beauty and Use:

1. Rose-bowl. 2. A low Dutch dish. 3. Fruit-
bowl 80

How to Make a Plaster Mould:

1. A plaster mould. 2. A rose-bowl . .80

Pottery for Beauty and Use:

1. Lamp-bowl. 2. Candlestick. 3. Wall-jar

for water-plants. 4. A flower candlestick . 80 -

The Making of a Tile 108

Basket-covered Pottery 126 '

Indian Pottery 156

Indian Pottery 162

Teco Ware 172

Some Pieces of Volkmar Pottery . . . .176
A Piece of Newcomb Pottery 178 '

LIST OF FIGURES

igurbs Page

I 10

2 10

3 I0

4 . io

5 I0

6 ii

7 , . . ii

8 12

9 17

io 27

11 29

12 33

13 33

14 34

15 35

16 35

x7 39

18 39

x9 .... 39

20 45

21 46

22 49

23 49

24 50

25 70

26 72

LIST OF "FIGURES— Continued

Figures Page

27 73

28 77

29 79

30 ........ 80

31 - 84

32 84

33 94

34 96

35 99

36 104

37 I04

38 . . . .106

39 Io6

40 107

4i 107

42 109

43 109

44 115

45 "6

46 120

47 • • -127

48 133

49 138

50 Hi

5i , . 142

52 144

53 150

54 .......... 150

55 151

56 151

57 152

58 153

xvi

LIST OF FIGURES- Continued

Figures Page

59 154

60 155

61 156

62 157

63 160

64 161

65 162

66 171

67 171

68 179

XVll

The Clays and Tools

HOW TO MAKE POTTERY

CHAPTER I

THE CLAYS AND TOOLS

/^LAY is what might be called the drift of the
^^ rocks of ages past. Most stone consists
mainly of silica and alumina. In some bygone
age, the potash and other alkalies, under the action
of heat, fused these materials into rock. Potash is
affected by the atmosphere, so it gradually left the
rock, which decomposed, and the many particles,
the fine refuse, after various changes became clay.
Perfectly pure clay, or hydrated silicate of alumina,
is found where some granites and other felspar-
bearing rocks have decomposed. In the course
of years, the clays, especially those on the surface,
gathered impurities. Black clay, for example,
which is found at the top of the bed, contains a
large per cent, of carbon, formed by decayed leaves
and twigs — like coal or peat. Strange to say, this
burns whiter than any other pottery clay. It

4 How to Make Pottery

contains more potash than the other clays, and
fires at a lower heat. The different proportions
in which certain minerals are found in clays de-
termine their plastic or non-plastic, fusible or
refractory character. Potters have not been able
to agree as to the reason for the plasticity of clay.
Some believe that the silica gives it plasticity;
others that it is due to the water inherent in the
clay (which is called the water of combination),
and give as their reason for the belief the fact that
burned clay loses its plasticity, never to get it
again. Yet water alone does not make every
clay plastic: other ingredients are sometimes
necessary. The early potter used the clay just as it
came from the ground, but when he began to bake
it in the fire he found that tempering materials
were necessary. Sand was often added to make
it easier to handle, and coarse, sharp pieces of shell
or rock helped to prevent the clay from cracking,
by lessening the shrinkage.

Later, as the art advanced, the value of certain
materials in regulating the fusible and refractory
qualities of the natural clay were recognised.
There is in clays the play of melting and non-
melting substances. Flint and alumina are hard,
and uphold the clay in the fierce fire of the kiln;

The Clays and Tools 5

potash and soda make it soft and fusible. It is
believed that the value of ground flint in pottery-
was not discovered until late in the seventeenth
century. The story is that a certain potter
travelling on horseback was delayed on account
of an inflammation of his horse's eyes. An
ostler, wishing to help him out of his difficulty, took
a flint from the road, and, after putting it in the
fire until it was red-hot, threw it into cold water.
It broke into pieces, pure white, which were
easily powdered and applied to the animal's eyes.
Delighted as the potter was with the cure of his
horse, the discovery of a white, infusible material
for his pottery pleased him still more.

The combination of iron and lime in a clay
forms a natural flux. For example: Fire-clay,
which is quite refractory but which contains a
small per cent, of iron, will, by the addition of a
proportion of whiting (lime), become more fusible.
Iron and lime in larger quantities are found in the
clay which is made into red ware — flower-pots,
red bricks, and other common articles. The
large per cent, of iron gives it its red colour. It
does not make as strong a ware as other clays.
This red ware, which fires at the lowest heat, we
will classify as Group I. To Group II. belongs the

6 How to Make Pottery

yellow or Rockingham ware. This fires at a light-
orange heat, from 1,800 to 2,000 degrees Fahren-
heit. It is often finished with a dark-brown glaze.
Mixing-bowls and other kitchen ware come under
this group. Group III. contains the buff or cream
ware, usually made of fire-clays. This hardens at
an intense heat, from 2,200 to 2,500 degrees
Fahrenheit. In this group is the fine pottery.
Art pottery comes under this head. Group IV. is
the buff or cream ware, fired at white heat and
beyond. This is the stoneware. On account of
the great heat at which it is fired, it is possible to
use only certain colours in the glazes. They are
limited to gray, brown, green and blue. Ox-blood
has been obtained in this ware, but it is uncertain.
Claret- and vinegar- jugs and butter- crocks come
in this group. Group V. is the white or tableware,
and Group VI. the translucent ware or porcelain,
made of kaolin, the purest grade of clay. Felspar
makes it meltable and translucent, and, to give it
plasticity, a small proportion of ball or fire-clay is
added.

Pottery clay differs from modelling clay in that
it has more stiffening, so to speak. It is not so
plastic, but, on the other hand, it will stand the
heat of the kiln, which the other will not. The

The Clays and Tools 7

addition of whiting or felspar to modelling clay will
give the needed stiffness. A pottery clay suitable
for the work one can produce in one's kiln must
be so arranged as to harden at the degree of heat
at which the kiln fires. Practically, we shall have
little to do with any but the blue or ball clay and
fire-clay. These are the best for pottery which is
to be beautiful as well as useful. It is possible, of
course, to use the flower-pot clay, and, perhaps, if
one can easily obtain this clay, and is near enough
to a pottery where the red ware is fired — so that
one's pieces can conveniently be sent there — it
might be wiser to use it than to buy finer clays
that come from a great distance, and then be
obliged to send one's pottery to a far-away kiln
for firing.

The flower-pot ware is not strong, however,
and fine glazes cannot be used upon it, so that, if
possible, clay that will fire at a greater heat
should be chosen. A mixture of fire-clay and
ball or blue clay will give good results, and the
pieces made with it may be sent to the nearest art
pottery or to a kiln where stoneware is fired.
Having once found a good clay, potters rarely
change. In fact, this feeling is so strong with
some that it amounts almost to a superstition. A

8 How to Make Pottery

potter who has obtained a clay that is satisfactory
in a certain State will always send to the same
State and bed for that clay, no matter how far
he may be from it, nor how nearly the clay in his
own State may come to the analysis of that which
he has used.

The clay is, of course, brought from the clay
beds in caked masses. It should be kept out of
doors, for the wind and weather are good for it. In
preparing it, the great lumps are pounded up fine
and put through a sieve in which there are thirty
to forty meshes to the inch. It is now ready for
soaking. A common mistake is to pour water
upon the clay in its rock state and then employ a
boy or spend one's own time kneading it into
condition. The more simple and practical process
is to sift it as already described, and then add the
powdered clay to the water. In this way, each
particle is wet at once, and in much less time the
clay is ready for use. If it proves that too much
water has been provided, pour off some after the
clay is well mixed, and, if it is still too moist, spread
it upon plaster slabs in the air ; which will soon dry
it sufficiently — the plaster itself absorbing much
of the surplus moisture.

It is often possible, at slight expense, to obtain

The Clays and Tools g

the clay already sieved and mixed from a pottery,
and this is, of course, an advantage.

Keep your clay in a large earthern crock in
which a little water has first been poured. Make
deep holes with the thumb and pour water into
them. Cover with a damp cloth and then with
the earthen top. When the clay dries out so
much that it is difficult to mould, let it dry thor-
oughly and pound it to a powder on a strong
bench or table with an old flat-iron. It may then
be re-mixed, as already described.

When ready to begin work, take a good-sized
lump of clay, say about ten pounds; pound and
knead it upon a table. Then draw a strong wire
through it at the middle, dividing it in halves.
Press the two outer surfaces together, kneading
out the air-holes, which will be found on the inner
surfaces. This process repeated a number of times
will finally expel all the air-bubbles and leave
the clay in good condition for moulding. Clay
that is to be used on the wheel will need to be
much more thoroughly kneaded than that for
hand-moulded or built pottery.
Tools

Boxwood modelling tools are useful for the
hand-moulded pottery and for decoration. One

How to Make Pottery

Fig.

Fig. 2

1
Fig. 3

Fig. 4

pointed tool, like a sharpened pencil (see Fig. i),
and another double-ended one, with points that
are more flattened and rounded (see Fig. 2), will
be enough to start with. One should also have a

Fig. 5

The Clays and Tools

double-ended steel tool with pointed knife-ends
(see Fig. 3), for incising and other decorative

Fig. 6

work. A steel tool with narrow, flattened ends
(see Fig. 4) is necessary for cutting away the
background to leave the design in low relief.

The tools for use with the potter's wheel are
mostly of thin steel, and may easily be cut from a

12 How to Make Pottery

sheet of steel which one can buy of a dealer in
hardware. There should be an oval shape, two
and a quarter by four inches, and another of the
same size and shape with the edges cut in saw-teeth
(see Fig. 5). There should also be a tool with
one straight side and the other curved (see Fig. 6),
and a rectangular one about two by four inches.
A hoe-shaped tool of steel (see Fig. 7) is indis-
pensable for working on the wheel, as is a slender
point of steel, an inch and a quarter long, set in a

Fig. 8

wooden handle (see Fig. 8), and a piece of stout
wire. A rubber polisher, the size and shape of
the oval tool of sheet steel, will also be found
useful. These may be bought of dealers in potters'
tools. A sponge, a ground-glass slab about a foot
square, a rolling-pin, and sandpaper are also
essential.

Round and square slabs of plaster of paris
should be provided upon which to put the pieces of
pottery while they are being formed. These may
be bought or cast in moulds, according to the direc-
tions in Chapter VII.

Hand -made Pottery

CHAPTER II

HAND-MADE POTTERY

It is quite important that the potter should
have a workshop — be it ever so small — which
clay-dust and water will not harm. A light, dry-
cellar is a good place, or an outbuilding, if one
lives in the country. The sense of freedom which
comes from working in this way is a help in ac-
complishing good results. Protected by a long-
sleeved apron and in such a place, one need not
have a care for clothes or carpets. A stout old
table, one or two chairs, and possibly a shelf, upon
which to put the finished pottery — with these,
and the potter's wheel and bench (see Chapter III.),
one will be well equipped. This is taking for
granted that one has been able to buy one's clay
ready mixed. Otherwise there must be a tub for
mixing the clay, and a sieve (see Chapter I.). In
addition to the clay and the tools already mentioned
in Chapter I., a pitcher of water will be needed,
and a bowl for the "slip," or clay thinned with

1 6 How to Make Pottery

water to the consistency of very thick cream. The
potter is now ready for work.

Small pieces of pottery, such as dishes and
candlesticks, may be moulded with the hands
from a single piece of clay (see Chapter VI.); but,
for larger pieces, the strong and simple Indian
process of building up with coils of clay is more
satisfactory. This may be done in a variety of
ways. Either the piece is formed by coiling the
strips of clay within a mould, as described in
Chapters VI. and VII., or by building it up by eye,
assisted by a cardboard outline (see plate), or it
may be formed entirely by eye, like the rose -bowl
with a moth design in Chapter VI. The first
method, while it is the simplest, is not the best to
begin with, for one relies too much upon the
mould, and unconsciously uses it too often, instead
of training one's eye to make a true and beautiful
form. The second method — testing the form
with a pasteboard outline as the piece is built —
will be the best to start with. Having decided
upon the shape he wishes to make, the potter
draws it in outline (natural size) upon a piece of
cardboard. It will be wise to choose a form as
nearly like a cylinder as possible; for example, a
jar for flowers. The outline sketch is divided by

Hand-made Pottery 17

a vertical line ruled exactly through its centre.
Another straight line, parallel with the first, is
drawn three inches to the right of it. The outline
is then cut out (see Fig. 9) so as to make a guide
for the contour of the jar. A
flat, round piece of clay, about
five inches in diameter and
half an inch thick, is now
moulded and placed in the
centre of a plaster tile. In
the middle of this piece, a
circle, two and three-quarters
inches in diameter, is drawn
with a tool. A lump of clay,
which has been well worked to
get out all air-holes, is rolled
on the table with the palms of
the hands (near the base of
the thumb) lightly, yet with
sufficient push to make the
clay revolve wholly each time.
If the roll flattens from too pIG. g

hard pressure, pat it into
circular form, and continue to roll it until
it is of even thickness — about an inch in diam-
eter. It is then flattened evenly, one end is

1 8 How to Make Pottery

cut into a long point, and the coil is started on
edge, narrow side up, on the circle drawn upon
the clay bottom, which has previously had
lines criss-crossed upon it back and forth with
a steel tool, to insure the first coil's clinging to
it. To make this even more certain, a touch of
slip is brushed lightly here and there over the
edge of the circle. While the thumb and middle
finger, on either side of the coil, support it, the fore-
finger presses it down firmly on to the bottom all
the way around (see plate). It is so much easier
to flare the walls of one's piece than to make
them straight, or bring them in, that they should
be kept as nearly vertical as possible, especially
in starting. When the circuit has been made, cut
the » end of the clay strip into a long, flat point
which will fit evenly in with the one at the beginning
of the coil, and press the edges together with the
flat of the nail of finger or thumb. Tl:::- is also
done where the edges of the coil come against the
bottom, outside and in. Quick, firm, yet short
strokes of the nail up and down join the edges.
In putting on the second row, no marking with the
tool is necessary — only to brush it with slip. After
the second row is added, the jar is put out in the
air for half an Lour or so, until it has stiriened a

BUILDING A PIECE OF POTTERY
i. Making the First Coil
2 Testing the Outline
3. Continuing the Piece

Hand-made Pottery 19

little. This is supposing that the potter is working
at a time when the clay will not freeze. When the
weather is cold, the piece must be left to stiffen in-
doors, as pottery that has once frozen is useless.
The inside of the bottom and walls are then
smoothed with great care, for, as it is to be a tall
jar, this must be done before the walls get too high.
Two more rows of coiling are now added as before,
testing the shape by pressing the cardboard outline
close against it all around the circumference.
After this, the jar is again put out in the air for
half an hour or so. This method is continued until
the jar is built up.

Should the walls become weak and insecure
from working them too rapidly, let them dry for a
longer time, several hours or over night, before
finishing. Test the shape constantly with the
cardboard outline. When the jar is as high as the
drawing, or even a quarter to half an inch higher,
let it dry over night. It should then be smoothed
with an oval steel tool, which has a saw-toothed
edge (see Fig. 5), to take the worst unevenness off.
The tool is bent to fit the shape of the jar and held
at right angles with it, smoothing it with short
strokes in different directions. This is done
inside and out. The hollows are also filled in.

20 How to Make Pottery

To do this, wet the spot first with slip and fill in
with clay as nearly the consistency of that in
the jar as possible. The sides are then made
perfectly even with the oval tool with smooth
edges, holding it as the saw-toothed tool was held.
When there are no hollows or ridges and the walls
are about a quarter of an inch thick, the surface of
the jar is smoothed with a damp sponge and
polished with the fingers and thumb inside and
out, taking care in handling it not to hold it by
the edge, but rest it in the hollowed hand. Should
it have become very dry, as it will in a compara-
tively short time in warm weather, so that it is
light-gray in colour, it will be wise to smooth it with
sandpaper instead of with the sponge, as in this
state even a little water may cause it to crack.
One cannot learn too soon, or have too often im-
pressed upon one's mind, the risk of adding wet
clay to a piece of pottery that is much drier. The
natural shrinkage which has already taken place
in the dry clay will be repeated in the wet, and, as it
shrinks, it will crack the drier clay. Cracks in
clay are of two kinds — those caused by shrinkage
of the unbaked or green clay, and those that come
from cooling too rapidly in the biscuit or baked
clay. The former can usually be mended satis-

Hand-made Pottery 21

factorily, but for the latter there is no remedy;
the piece is spoiled.

To mend a crack in clay that is only partially
dry, put a little slip into the crack and then
work in, with a modelling tool, clay of the con-
sistency of the piece. If, after drying longer, the
piece cracks again — a long, deep crack, that goes
through to the inside — there is no way to mend it
except by cutting the clay out on either side for
quite a space beyond the crack, brushing both sides
with slip, and filling in with clay as nearly as
possible the consistency of the piece. This is
pressed in in small bits, little by little, until the
gap is filled. If it should crack again in small,
short places, fill them with dry, powdered clay,
pressed in and moulded with a steel tool.

In case of the piece cracking when it is bone dry —
that is, after it has dried for several days and is
pale-gray in colour — grind some pieces of baked
clay to a fine powder, add enough water to make
a soft, yellow paste, and fill the cracks with it.

The edge of the jar is cut as even as possible
with a tool, and then made perfectly true by the
following method: A little water is poured on a
ground-glass slab, and the jar, held bottom up, is
moved firmly but rapidly round and round on the

22 How to Make Pottery

wet surface, and then quickly taken up (by-
sliding it off at the edge of the slab) before it
clings to the glass. The bottom must now be
finished. The jar is first placed bottom up on a
slab or table, then a circle is drawn with a pencil
at about half an inch from the edge of the bottom.
This is outlined with the pointed steel tool, and the
bottom within the circle is evenly and carefully
cut out with strokes of the oval, smooth-edged
tool, so that the outside ring shall form a ridge not
over one-sixteenth of an inch above the depressed
interior of the circle. The potter now cuts his
initial or mark, which is made in as simple lines as
possible, into the bottom with firm, deep strokes.
If the jar is not very dry, a wooden modelling tool
may be used for this. Otherwise, the pointed steel
tool is chosen. Care should be taken not to cut
under the edge in making these incised lines.
The edges should instead be bevelled, so that, when
the glaze is put on, it will flow more freely over
them.

If possible, this jar, being large, should be
fired in the biscuit — that is, before it is glazed, and
then again after it has been glazed ; unless one is
obliged to send it a long distance to be fired, so
that more than one firing is impracticable, in

Hand-made Pottery 23

which case it must, of course, be glazed on the un-
baked clay.

A pale green glaze (see directions in Chapter V.)
will complete it.

In packing to send pieces to a far-off kiln by-
express, use a wooden box, and, after lining it
with newspaper, wrap the pieces in soft paper,
and pack them carefully in sawdust.

Working on the Wheel

CHAPTER III

WORKING ON THE WHEEL

That the primitive potter did not mould his pot-
tery on a wheel we can be reasonably sure. The
Egyptians, however, as early as 4000 B. C, used
the simplest potter's wheel,
as is proved by fragments
of pottery still in existence.
This wheel was a small,
round table revolving on
a pivot (see Fig. 10). The
potter set it in motion with
his hand, and from time to
time gave it a spin to keep
it revolving. The same
wheel is used to this day
in many parts of India. An improvement on this
simple contrivance was made in Egypt under the
Ptolemies. A larger circular table was fixed lower
down on the same axis. This the potter set and
kept in motion with his foot, leaving his hands

Frvm Encyclopedia Britannicct

Fig. 10

28 How to Make Pottery

free at all times to mould the clay, while the wheel
was kept at a regular speed.

What is technically known as "throwing" or
moulding pottery on the wheel is a process that is
not learned in a moment, or even in a day. It
takes time and patience, but it is certainly one of
the most fascinating parts of the craft. One would
have lost half of the charm of pottery -making who
had not felt the plastic clay, on the potter's wheel,
rise and fall between his hands, almost as if endowed
with life!

The rapidity with which pieces can be formed on
the wheel is an advantage over other processes,
while the regularity of shape, refinement and per-
fection of finish give wheel-made pottery a beauty
all its own. Until lately, few women potters have
worked on the wheel, because the ordinary form of
potter's wheel, which was turned with one foot, the
potter standing on the other, made the work too
difficult and laborious for a woman to attempt.
Now, however, a wheel copied from an old French
model is in use which enables the potter to sit while
at work. This is the wheel shown in Fig. n. It
is obtainable from makers of potters' tools. The
cost of such a wheel, with an iron top and shaft,
and wooden fly-wheel made of three thicknesses of

Working on the Wheel

boards, is eighteen dollars, but second-hand wheels
can sometimes be bought for much less. When the
wheel is set up, the shaft box (a square box below
the upper wheel) is fastened to the edge of a strong
table or shelf, which has been placed in a good light.
A seat which slants
forward, not unlike a
reading-desk in form,
is made of wood (see
Fig. 11), and set up
near enough to the
wheel for a person sit-
ting on it to reach the
wheel comfortably.
It is braced by a
board on either side
extending diagonally
forward, from the leg of the seat to the floor, and by
a board fastened on the right of the top of the seat
and reaching to the table. Under the table a foot-
rest, roughly made of boards, is needed.

At first, it will be wise to learn how to set the
wheel in motion. Suppose we practice this a few
times before beginning to mould. When one is
seated on the inclined bench, the left foot on the
rest, the right foot starting just below the body,

Fig. 11

30 How to Make Pottery

near the outer edge of the wheel, swings the fly-
wheel from right to left. The point of the foot is
used for this. Four or five vigorous turns are given,
and then the foot, swinging nearer the iron shaft,
gives five or six more pushes to the flywheel, and is
placed on the foot-rest. Expert potters can turn
with the foot while the hands are busy moulding,
but we who are beginners will do wisely to start
the wheel revolving, then, keeping both feet on the
rest, give all our attention to the hand- work, until
the slower revolutions warn us that it is time to
give the wheel another start. One caution should
be given, and it may not be out of place here : Do
not work too long a time at the wheel. Half or
three-quarters of an hour's steady work at a time
will be enough. After that, leave it for half an hour
and you will not get physically or nervously tired ;
besides, the work will go much better. Have your
tools and a bowl of thin slip within easy reach as
you sit at the wheel.

In beginning your piece, a lump of clay, say
about two pounds, well worked, is made into a
ball. Wet the top of the wheel, then rub it off so
as to leave the wheel just moist enough for the clay
to stick, but not slippery, so that it will slide. The
lump of clay, held in both hands, is then thrown

Working on the Wheel 31

firmly on to the centre of the wheel. The bottom
of the lump should be well down on the wheel, and
it is most important to have it exactly in the centre.
The hands are wet with slip, which is also rubbed
over the lump of clay with both hands so that it is
thoroughly moist.

The wheel is now set in motion as already de-
scribed, and when it is well started, and both feet
are up on the rest, the hands held one on either
side of the clay starting close to the wheel, move
slowly up the sides of the lump, drawing it up into
a cone shape. The elbows should be well braced
against the sides of the body, so as to hold the hands
absolutely steady, for they should never waver or
swing with the wheel, but hold true and firm. If
the mass is not exactly in the centre of the wheel,
or the cone shape is not even, the hands are again
wet with slip, a few drops of which are shaken on
to the clay. The thumbs are laid together, and
the hands at the bases of the thumbs are pressed
firmly down on the clay (as the wheel turns) , press-
ing it again into mound shape. The hands and
clay are wet once more, and the wheel started.
The clay is now pressed up again into the cone
form, taking great care to have the pressure even
and slow. The hands should move, after each revo-

32 How to Make Pottery

lution, not more than a quarter of an inch. When a
good cone shape is made exactly in the middle of
the wheel, the piece is "centred." In order to
prove that the cone is absolutely in the centre, set
the wheel going, brace the arms against the body,
and, steadying the right hand with the left, move the
forefinger of the right closer and closer to the cone,
until it all but touches it. If the figure hits in
any one place, that will prove that the cone is not
centred, and it must be pressed again into mound
shape as already described, but if it just clears it all
the way round, the potter proceeds to the next step.
The thumbs, held close together above the clay,
are aimed at the exact centre of it, and their ends
pressed firmly but lightly in, while the wheel
revolves once or twice. This is to mark the centre.
The next step is to hollow out the piece. This is
also done with the thumbs. The hands and clay
being wet with slip, and the wheel started well, the
fingers inclose the outer walls of the piece, while
the thumbs are pressed into the centre of the clay
firmly and decidedly down to within less than half
an inch from the bottom. This is something that
the potter learns to know almost by instinct — how
close he can come to the top of the wheel and yet
leave a bottom thick enough to trim and finish.

Working on the Wheel

Fig. 12

A form as nearly cylindrical as possible will be
the simplest to begin with. Suppose one wishes to
make a jar of the shape
shown in Fig. 12. The
next step is to make the
walls of equal thickness,
hollowing the bottom
more. To do this, the
elbows are braced
against the sides, and
the fingers placed in the
position shown in Fig.
13. This is one of the ways in which the hands
are made to support each other and work in unison.

The different placings
of the hands, to ac-
complish various results,
are known as potter's
grips. In this one, the
right hand, which re-
mains outside the piece
(lying close against it),
supports the left by the
G" I3 thumb which rests

against it, the forefinger of the right hand hav-
ing previously been coiled around its thumb (see

How to Make Pottery

Fig. 13). The middle finger of the left hand lies
against the wall of the piece inside. The piece is
thus supported outside and in by a hand.

Starting at the bottom, as the wheel turns, the
hands, held steady and firm, rise slowly with each
revolution of the wheel. The right presses more
than the left, hollowing the bottom and walls of the
piece. Slowly, slowly, the hands rise, until the top
is reached. If the shape is not quite true, the

Fig. 14

hands start in the same position at the bottom and
again go up, pressing hardest when pressure is
needed, and going lightly where it is not necessary
to alter the shape. Another position of the hands
(see Fig. 14) may be used to press the clay into a
narrower form. This must be done with great
deliberation and care, however, as too much pres-
sure may make a crease in the clay wall which will

Working on the Wheel

Fig. 15

spoil the piece. When the walls are of even thick-
ness (not more than a quarter of an inch) and the
shape about what one
wishes, the top must be
finished.

First the edge is cut
even. We will use for
this the tool shown in
Fig. 8.

Holding the tool,
which has been wet with
slip, firmly in the right
hand, brace the left by resting the thumb near where
the steel is inserted in the wood (see Fig. 15). As
the wheel turns, lay the left forefinger, wet with slip,
just inside the top of the piece,
and directly opposite (at the
point where one wishes to cut
the top) run the point of the
tool through, till it touches
the finger, and hold it steady
and firm till one revolution of
the wheel has been made.
The wheel is then stopped,
and the edge that was cut lifted off deftly and
quickly.

Fig. 16

36 How to Make Pottery

To soften the edge, hold the forefinger and middle
finger of the right hand apart (see Fig. 16). Wet
their inner surfaces thoroughly with slip, then, as
the wheel revolves, hold them straight and firm
(while the left hand steadies the wrist of the right)
and press the rounded joining of the two fingers
gently but firmly down on the top of the piece,
holding it there steadily till one or two whole revo-
lutions of the wheel have been made. If one wishes
to have a more flaring top, lay the forefinger of the
right hand inside the edge with ever so slight an
outward pressure, while the wheel turns once.
Before perfecting the bottom, it may be as well to
let the piece stiffen for half an hour.

The hoe-shaped tool is used for cutting away the
extra clay under the bottom. Set the wheel in
motion, then take the tool, well moistened with
slip, in the left hand. Hold it firmly with its long
edge on the top of the wheel (if it is to be a long
and gradual slope into the bottom of the jar), while
the right hand steadies the top outer angle of the
tool. It is then run in under the bottom and there
held till one or more revolutions have cut away the
surplus clay.

Should one wish to make a more abrupt line up
from the bottom, the process is reversed, the right

Working on the Wheel 37

hand holds the tool, the short side of which is laid
on the wheel, while the left hand holds the outside
top angle, to steady it.

After an hour or two, when the piece has stiffened
somewhat, it may be smoothed, and the form
refined or improved, if necessary, with the smooth-
edged oval tool of sheet steel. When the wheel is
in motion, this tool, moistened with water and bent
to fit the curves of the piece, is held in the right
hand at right angles with the piece, while the left
hand supports the wrist of the right. Too abrupt
angles may be softened and roughness removed
with this tool. Start at the bottom with it, and
move it up gradually, with each revolution of the
wheel, lightly, except where the form needs much
trimming. The rubber polisher, wet with water, is
now passed over the surface in the same way, taking
care that it is held at right angles with the piece and
the hand that holds it is braced by the other. A
stout wire held close to the piece on either side is
then drawn under it once or twice to prevent its
clinging to the wheel.

The next day, or as soon as the piece is stiff, it is
removed to a plaster tile. In finishing the bottom,
the wheel is first scraped and wiped clean of all clay;
the piece is then placed on it bottom up and centred.

38 Hoiv to Make Pottery

This is done by putting it as near the middle as pos-
sible by eye; then when the wheel is going well,
hold the right forefinger or a wooden tool, well
braced, close to the piece. See if it touches at any
point, and if so, move that side nearer the centre.
Roll four short pieces of rather stiff clay. With
two of these make supports on the wheel about an
inch high, close to the piece on either side to hold it
steady — not close enough to cling to it. Two
more supports are placed half-way between the
first two.

Get the wheel going well, and holding the hoe-
shaped tool so that its middle angle will strike the
bottom of the piece about half an inch from the
edge, aim it truly and hold it steadily till the wheel
has made one or more revolutions, which will mark
a circle. Within this line depress the bottom
slightly by cutting out a thin layer of clay. This is
done with the rectangular sheet steel tool held first
near the line, then with each revolution nearer the
centre till it reaches it. The potter next cuts his
mark on the bottom with a wooden tool, if the piece
is not very dry, otherwise it should be made with a
pointed steel tool, taking care to bevel the edges of
the incised lines.

The jar is finished with a handle on each side.

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Working on the Wheel

Roll out two strips of clay five and a half inches
long ; flatten them, and trim the edges. Now mark

Fig. 17

a place on each side of the top of the jar, so that a

line drawn from one to the other would exactly

divide the top. Make two other marks in the same

way at the bottom,

directly under those at

the top. These are for

guides in attaching the

handles. Starting at

the top, below one of

the marks, criss-cross

lines with the steel tool

for an inch down the

side of the jar. Do this

on the other side of the

jar, and then, starting an inch above the mark on

either side of the bottom, cut criss-cross lines for an

40 How to Make Pottery

inch up the side of the jar. Now take one of the
clay strips, brush the upper criss-crossed lines on
one side of the jar with slip, and press the end of the
strip upon it, working the edges close against the
side of the jar with the flat of the nail. The other
end of the strip is cut in a long point to fit the form
of the jar, and bent into the shape shown in the
plate. Wet the criss-crossed lines below it with
slip, and attach this end in the same way as the
first. The other handle is put on in the same
manner.

A mat-glaze of gray green (see Chapter V.) will
complete the piece.

Such forms as are shown in Figs. 17 and 18 can
be made without any difficulty, and they will be
most attractive for short-stemmed flowers — violets,
sweet peas, or nasturtiums. A ere am- jug (see
plate) is comparatively simple. The lip is formed
with a deft touch of the finger after the piece is
moulded, and the handle added afterward. A
dull-green mat -glaze will make a charming finish
for this piece. The jar shown in Fig. 19 is more
difficult to shape, but it is an excellent one for
flowers.

Methods of Decoration

CHAPTER IV

METHODS OF DECORATION

The more simple and strong pottery designs are,
the better. Those that are intricate, no matter
how beautiful, are out of place on the big, sub-
stantial forms; while delicate traceries are lost
under the glaze. Here, as in basketry, we can learn
much from the work of primitive peoples.

In applying such designs, simple methods, too,
are best — incising, building up the outline so that
the design shall be raised above the background,
cutting away the background to leave the
design in low relief, and piercing. These are
good processes, easy to learn, and effective in
result.

In starting, suppose we decorate a wheel-made
piece — a low dish for candy, with a built-up design
of rings.

Dish for Candy with Ring Design

Materials A wheel-made dish or bowl,
required: Ultramarine blue water-colour paint,

44 How to Make Pottery

A small water-colour paint-brush with a fine

point,
A saucer of ground, baked clay, mixed with

water,
A pitcher of water.

The low bowl shown in the plate is not difficult
to mould on the wheel. After it has become bone
dry — as it will in three or four days — it will be safe
to decorate it in this way. Be careful, in handling
the piece, not to grasp it by the edge, which, in all
unbaked pottery, but especially in that that is bone
dry, is the most fragile part. It should be held in
the hollow of the left hand, while the right does the
work. Have ready some ultramarine blue water-
colour paint mixed with water in a cup, a small
paint-brush tapering to a fine point, and a saucer in
which is some baked or biscuit clay, pale yellow in
colour, ground fine and mixed with water to the
consistency of thick cream. A jug of water nearby
is also necessary, to thin the clay mixture when it
stiffens.

The design chosen is one large and two small
rings, alternating around the bowl near the top (see
Fig. 20). First measure the circumference of the
top of the bowl. Divide it into fifths and mark the
divisions with the paint-brush and blue paint.
Starting a quarter of an inch below one of these

Methods of Decoration

marks, draw a small ring, about half an inch in
diameter, with the blue paint. Should you
make a mistake, the paint will erase easily after
it is dry.

Half an inch below the first ring another is drawn.
One of these groups of two small rings is made
below each of the five marks around the top of the

Fig. 20

bowl. Then starting half an inch below the top of
the bowl, and midway between two groups, draw a
larger ring about an inch in diameter. One of
these rings is outlined in the same way in each of
the five spaces. When the design is perfected and
the paint dry, dilute a little of the baked clay in the
saucer to the consistency of thin cream, and with
it and the brush, thoroughly cleansed from blue

46 How to Make Pottery

paint, trace the outlines of the decoration. Use a
full brush, and make the lines as uniform as possi-
ble in width and thickness. There should be four
or more coats of this material applied in order to
build up the design sufficiently, but only the first
one is thin. This is so that it shall cling to the clay
underneath. The next and subsequent coats are
made with a thicker consistency of the creamy
mixture, which must, however, be thin enough
to flow freely from the brush. Do not add
a coat until the one underneath is thoroughly
dry.

The piece is now ready for glazing.
A pale-green glaze may be used (see Chapter V.).

Incising is an abso-
lutely simple process,
which gives a charm-
ing effect. Examples
of this method of
decoration are shown
in the fruit-bowl with
a garland of orange leaves just below the rim on the
inside (see plate and Fig. 25), and the smaller
bowl with a maple-seed design (see plate and Fig.
21). Incising also helps the pierced design on the
rose-bowl described in Chapter VII.

Methods of Decoration 47

To Decorate a Small Bowl with Incised Design 0}
Maple Seeds

Materials A small wheel-made bowl,

required: A pointed steel tool,

A pointed boxwood tool,

A box-wood tool with curved point.

The bowl, a low one, is made on the wheel accord-
ing to the directions in Chapter III. After it has
dried for a day, it may be decorated with an incised
design.

Suppose we choose for this a winged maple-seed,
the simple outlines of which any one can draw.
From tip to tip of the wings should measure at least
an inch and three-quarters. If the bowl is small,
not more than four and a half inches in diameter at
the top, six seeds should be made at equal distances
around it. First measure the circumference of the
top of the bowl. Divide it into sixths, and with a
pencil mark off as many divisions on the edge of the
bowl.

The design, which is drawn so that the seed
portion is down and the little wings turn up, is first
outlined in pencil near the top of the bowl. Begin
by drawing the seed part, which should be about
an inch below a pencil-mark on the edge. With a
boxwood point deepen the line, and then make the

48 How to Make Pottery

incision still deeper, using the wooden tool with a
curved point. Take care not to make a double
line in deepening the first outline ; it should be a
clean, firm line, with a bevelled edge. Avoid cut-
ting under the edge, as the glaze will not run
smoothly over it.

If the piece is too dry to admit of incising with a
wooden tool, use a pointed steel tool at first and
finish with a wooden one. Certain parts of the
design should be accented by deepening the line —
for example, the rounded seed portion, particularly
where it joins the wings.

This bowl may be finished with a pale-green mat-
glaze (see Chapter V.) or with a soft brown one.

A decoration that is left in low relief by cutting
away the background is admirable for some pieces.
The moth design on the rose-bowl in Chapter VI. is
made in this way. The design is first drawn on the
piece in pencil. Next it is outlined with firm, sure
strokes, using a pointed steel tool, and taking great
care not to cut under the edge of the outline, but
bevel it, as in other processes. Go over the whole
outline of the design again with a boxwood point,
making the lines deeper. Then start close to the
edge of the outline with the steel tool, which has a
flat point, and scrape away from it, cutting as deep

Methods of Decoration

as the outline, close to the design, and sloping
gradually up to nothing at about half an inch from

Fig. 22

it. Certain parts of the design may be emphasised
by cutting the outline somewhat deeper at those
points. Be sure to cut away enough clay about
the design to leave it in decided relief, for the glaze
softens the edges, and makes them too indefinite if
they are not firm and clear in the beginning.

Pierced decorations are particularly good on pot-
tery. Such simple designs as those in Figs. 22, 23,
and 24 will be found the most satisfactory.

Fig. 23

In planning a pierced decoration for the top of a
piece, take care not to start it too close to the rim;

50 How to Make Pottery

three-quarters of an inch or more should be left
between the edge and the decoration, otherwise
the piercing will weaken the piece.

Outline the design first in pencil, then with firm,
clear strokes follow the line with the pointed steel
tool. The line is traced a second time still more
deeply. All the clay within the outlines is cut
out as far as the incision has been made, and

CO <0

Fig. 24

then the sharp point of the tool is run through the
wall close to the fine. While the clay is being cut
away with the right hand, the left supports the
inner wall of the piece.

When the whole design has been pierced, moisten
the finger with water and soften the edges of the
decoration, that the glaze may flow freely over it.
Decorations in high relief are made as follows:

Methods of Decoration 51

Small lumps of clay, as nearly as possible the con-
sistency of the piece of pottery, are applied to the
portions which are to be decorated, and which
have previously been criss-crossed with a steel tool,
and wet with slip. The design is then moulded
with the hands and wooden modelling tools, work-
ing the edges close on to the surface of the piece.

The Glaze
and How to Apply It

CHAPTER V

THE GLAZE AND HOW TO APPLY IT

Clay that is simply baked, without a glazed
coating, will not hold water perfectly.

One can imagine what a blow it must have been
to the early potter when he found that this was the
case. Some say that he used wax at first to close
the pores of his pottery, and later — perhaps by the
overheating of a kiln — glazed pottery was discov-
ered. Pottery that is soft will develop a semi-
glazed surface when overtired, and it is probable
that some such accident suggested the use of the
glaze.

The first glaze was doubtless a pure silicate of
soda. Oxide of lead added to this made it more
fusible, but it was not as hard or durable.

What is known as biscuit is baked clay porous
and without gloss — for example, a flower-pot.

Glossy pottery has a very thin layer of glaze upon
it. The Samian ware of the Greeks furnishes

56 How to Make Pottery

examples of this finish. Glazed pottery is covered
with a perceptible coating of glass.

Enamelled ware, or pottery with a mat -glaze,
has a glazed coating made opaque with oxide of
tin. This finish is used on some of the most beauti-
ful art pottery. Glazes may be coloured with cer-
tain metallic oxides without losing their trans-
parency.

One is often confused by hearing the terms
enamel and glaze carelessly used. Enamel should
be used to describe a vitreous coating that is
opaque, and glaze a glossy, transparent surface —
both may be coloured. The term mat -glaze is an
exception to this rule. This means an opaque glaze
with a glossy finish.

The materials of which glazes are composed are
about the same as those that enter into the com-
position of clays with a few additions. There is
in glazes, as in clays, the play of soft and hard
materials, or the flux and frit. Flint, aluminum,
or china clay forms the frit or hard, refractory-
portion; potash, soda, lead or borax the melting
part or flux. The addition of clays gives dur-
ability.

In preparing the flux, it is melted like glass and
then crushed to powder. The frit must first be

The Glaze and How to Apply It 57

melted, then dropped from the crucible into water
before it can be powdered.

The making of glazes is not often done by ama-
teurs, and unless one is planning to start pottery-
making as a business, and requires large quantities
of glazes, it is best to buy them from a reliable
dealer. They come in the form of powder — soft
glaze, hard glaze, and stannifere, which is a hard
glaze with some oxide of tin added, to make it
opaque. The soft glazes are used on ware which
fires at a low heat, and is therefore not durable.
A large proportion of hard glaze must be added to
make the preparation applicable to a pottery
which is fired at an intense heat, while if one wishes
a mat-glaze the stannifere is also used.

The colouring materials may be bought of the
same dealer. They are as follows: Antimony for
yellow, cobalt for blue, copper for green, chrome
for green, manganese for brown, and iron for brown.
Red oxide of iron colours a purplish red, and
carbonate of copper makes a gray green that is very
beautiful. A ground glass or stone slab, on which
to mix the glaze, and a palette knife, will be re-
quired; also a small quantity of gum-arabic and of
gum tragacanth, a small teacup, and a measuring-
glass. These, with two or three soft paint-brushes

58 How to Make Pottery

of various sizes — one that is an inch wide, one
smaller, and another larger — will be enough of an
outfit to start with.

The gum-arabic should be dissolved in water to
the consistency of honey. It is used in the first
coat of glaze to bind the glaze and prevent it from
rubbing off. Quite a little of it may be prepared
at a time and kept in a covered glass jar until
needed. The gum tragacanth is bought in small
quantities — five cents' worth at a time Cover this
amount with one pint of water and let it stand
over night. In the morning, strain it through a
fine sieve and put it away in a glass jar till it is
needed.

If possible, very large pieces of pottery should
be fired before they are glazed — in the biscuit, as it
is called. Small and medium-sized pieces may be
glazed on the green clay — the term by which
unbaked clay is known among potters. The piece
should have dried thoroughly for several days,
until it is light gray in colour, and what is known
as bone dry. It is decorated, if decoration is re-
quired, and then glazed. All vessels that are used
to hold or measure glaze should first be dipped in
water to prevent waste from the glaze clinging to
them. The hands should be washed thoroughly

The Glaze and How to Apply It 59

after working with glazes, as some of the materials
used are poisonous.

For the inside of most pieces a transparent glaze
is used, whether the outer glaze is to be transparent
or opaque.

All of the odds and ends of transparent glaze, no
matter what the colour, that are left after each
glazing, are poured into a large bowl or other ves-
sel which is kept for the purpose. The mixture of
all colours in this combination of glazes makes a
neutral tint which harmonizes most agreeably with
the outer glaze, whatever its colour.

It is applied as follows:

To Glaze the Inside of a Piece of Pottery

Take a small cupful of transparent glaze, and,
holding the piece of pottery over the large vessel
containing the liquid, pour the cupful of glaze into
it, rolling it around the inside of the piece quickly
but carefully, so as to have it cover the entire inner
surface. Then turn the piece deftly and suddenly
bottom up, so as to empty it into the large vessel
without letting any of it drip over onto the outside
of the piece. Should this happen, by accident, rub
it quickly off with the fingers.

60 How to Make Pottery

The Outside Glaze and Horn to Apply It

The most satisfactory finish for the outside of
fine pottery is a mat or opaque glaze in any soft
dull shade of green, brown, blue, yellow, or the red
obtainable with red oxide of iron. For an art pot-
tery, composed of fire- and blue-clay, which requires
a strong heat, the following glaze is applicable:

Gray-Green Mat-Glaze

Mix i tablespoonful of soft glaze,

£ tablespoonful of stannifere, and
£ tablespoonful of China clay,

together on a stone or glass slab with a palette
knife, adding ^ teaspoonful of gum-arabic and
enough water to make the consistency a little
thicker than thick cream. About J teaspoonful of
carbonate of copper added to this mixture (and
ground thoroughly into it with the palette knife)
will make a light gray-green. For deeper shades
increase the quantity slightly. The tint appears
much lighter than it will when fired; indeed, in the
colouring of glazes, as in painting on china, the
worker needs a great deal of faith, for until the
magic of the kiln brings out the colours one would
never guess what they were to be.

In applying the glaze, place your piece bottom

The Glaze and How to Apply It 61

up on a table, or other flat surface. Dip a soft, flat
paint-brush into the bowl of glaze, and beginning
with the bottom, paint it on in short strokes in
every direction — what an artist would call cross-
hatching — and overlapping slightly like the shin-
gles on a house. The bottom receives but one coat
of glaze, as it is liable to stick in firing and be uneven
if it has more than one. Next start at the sides,
near the bottom (as the piece stands upside down),
and paint down for an inch or two all around. The
piece is then set right side up, providing, of course,
that the bottom is dry, which it will be undoubt-
edly, and the rest of it is glazed. From time to
time stir up the glaze from the bottom, that it may
be thoroughly mixed.

The edge especially should be carefully covered,
and the outer glaze may even be brought over inside
the piece a little. Before applying the second and
third coats (for the piece receives three) two tea-
spoonfuls of gum tragacanth, well mixed according
to directions, are added to the glaze. In putting
on the second coat, the piece is again placed upside
down on the table, and beginning where the sides
join the bottom, the glaze is applied as before.
The sides and top edge only are glazed this time.
The third coat, which is put on when the second is

62 How to Make Pottery

dry, is begun at the top edge, covering it well, and
is ended gradually and unevenly half way down the
sides.

Pale-green Mat-Glaze

To make a lighter shade of green, with just a hint
of yellow to soften it, add to half the quantity of
the glaze first mixed as much again of the uncol-
oured glaze and a slight sprinkling of yellow.

It will be seen from these directions how much
the colouring of glazes is like the blending of pig-
ments for a picture. It is a delightful field for ex-
periment, and the element of chance is supplied by
the kiln, which often does unexpected and interest-
ing things to one's colours and glazes — leaving here,
a touch of brown about the rim to relieve an ex-
panse of green; there, a metallic tinge almost like
lustre; and again the biscuit peeps through the
glaze, giving a warmer tone to the edge of a decora-
tion.

In mixing the glaze for a piece that has been fired
in the biscuit, make it a little thicker than that for
use on the green clay — about the consistency of
whipped cream. It is applied somewhat differ-
ently, too. A potter would tell you to "rag it on"
— that is, put it on with firm, short strokes, using the

The Glaze and How to Apply It 63

ends of the hairs of the brush instead of the flat
part. Let each coat dry well before the next is
applied. Three or four coats will be necessary,
except for the bottom, which receives but one.
After the first coat, gum tragacanth is added, as in
glazing on green clay. The fourth coat need not
entirely cover the piece, but the top should be care-
fully glazed. If for any reason the pottery has to
be re-fired, it should be re-glazed, but two coats
only will be necessary, and the glaze need not be
quite so heavy as that used on the biscuit. Do not
be discouraged if your pieces need a second or even
a third firing, for often the most beautiful results
are obtained by re-firing. Quality — that combina-
tion of richness, and depth of colour and texture —
rarely comes with the first firing.

Pottery for Beauty and Use

CHAPTER VI

POTTERY FOR BEAUTY AND USE

When one thinks of the limitless possibilities of
pottery in household decoration — the great dishes
for flowers and fruit, the lamp-bowls, candlesticks,
and tiles — one may make , one can hardly wait to
begin. Now is the chance to work out a long-
treasured idea for a match-bowl, or a plant-jar to
hang against the wall or window frame. Now one
can show the superiority of one's conceptions over
the stupid things in shops ! Let us hasten to get
out the clay and begin.

Dark-Green Fruit-Bowl

Materials About 4J pounds of clay,
required: A plaster mould for a bowl, 10 or 11 inches in
diameter at the top,

The oval tools of sheet steel,

The wooden modelling tools,

The pointed steel tool,

A flint bag,

A rolling-pin,

A bowl of slip,

A small sponge.

68 How to Make Pottery

Take a good lump of clay, about four and a half
pounds, well worked and free from air-bubbles.
Beat out a piece with the flat of the hand on a table
until it is about three-quarters of an inch thick and
more than large enough to cover the bottom of the
plaster mould you have chosen. It should be of
even thickness, and may be rolled with a rolling-pin
to make it smooth. Be sure that the plaster mould
is clean and free from scraps of clay. Then dust it
with powdered flint tied up in a cotton cloth. Now
fit the flat piece of clay carefully into the bottom of
the bowl mould, pressing it firmly, but lightly,
against it. Cut the edge evenly around. Next a
long rope of clay is rolled as described in Chapter II.
It should be an inch in diameter, and long enough
to go around the bowl just above the bottom.
Pat it flat and even, and cut one end into a long
point. After cross-cutting the edge of the bottom
piece (to insure its holding firmly to the coil above),
brush it with slip and lay the coil along, pressing it
firmly on to the edge of the bottom piece. Work
the edges of this piece and the coil together with
firm, short strokes of the flat part of the thumb or
forefinger nail. Where the coil joins the other end
it is cut into a long, flat point that will fit exactly
the point at the beginning, completing the row.

Pottery for Beauty and Use 69

For the next coil no cross-cutting with the tool is
necessary, but otherwise the process is the same in
joining this and subsequent coils. Care should be
taken to press the clay firmly against the walls of
the mould, as well as upon the coil below. When
the inside of the mould is covered, if a deeper bowl
is desired, add one or two more coils above the edge,
taking care to have them slope in such a way as to
continue the lines of the bowl. It is then set away
to harden. The next day the clay will have dried
and shrunk sufficiently to come easily away from
the plaster. The bowl is then placed bottom up
on a table or flat slab, and the hollows left between
the coils on the outside are wet with slip and filled
in evenly, with clay of the consistency of that in
the piece. This will take time and care. The
bowl is then allowed to dry for an hour or two.
Next it is carefully scraped and made even; first
with the oval steel tool with a saw edge, held at
right angles with the bowl and curved to fit the
form : this is to get the large bumps off. It is then
carefully evened off with the smooth-edged oval
tool bent to fit the curves of the bowl. The inside
is made smooth and even in the same way, brush-
ing any deep hollows with slip and filling them in
with clay. This process should be carefully and

70 How to Make Pottery

conscientiously done, so that the walls of the bowl,
as one feels them between finger and thumb, are
even and free from lumps. They should not be
more than a quarter of an inch thick.

A damp sponge is then passed over the bowl, and
the fingers and thumb smooth and polish it outside
and in. The edge is trimmed as evenly as possible by
eye with a steel tool and then bevelled as follows:

On a large slab of ground glass pour a little water,
which should be spread over the glass till it is thor-
oughly wet. Now, holding the bowl bottom up,
firmly with both hands, press its edge quickly and

Fig. 25

with a circular motion flat on the glass. It must
be done so rapidly and deftly that it will not stick,
but makes the edge even and true. Slip it off at
the side of the slab instead of lifting it up from the
centre. The bottom is finished as described in
Chapter II. If this is done in the morning, the bowl
will be ready for the decoration in the afternoon.
This is a band of orange leaves (see Fig. 25), deeply

Pottery for Beauty and Use 71

incised near the top of the bowl on the inside (see
Chapter IV.). More character will be given to the
design if the line is broad and deep, particularly
at the points of the leaves, which are thus empha-
sised. This piece being so large, should, if possible,
be fired in the biscuit and then finished, inside and
out, with a dark-green mat -glaze (see Chapter V.),
and fired again.

Candlestick, Thumb Design

Materials About i\ pounds of clay,
required: The boxwood modelling tools,

The pointed steel tool,

A plaster slab,

A small sponge.

This sturdy little candlestick shows that it is
hand moulded by the marks of the potter's thumb
on base, handle and candle cup. The square base
is moulded from a single large piece of clay. This
is patted flat and even with the thick part of the
hand, and then cut square and the sides turned up
for about an inch, making the base about five inches
square and three-eighths of an inch thick. It is
then placed on a plaster slab, and the corners are
pressed in with a firmly held thumb. The sides of
the square base are moulded into a gradual inward
curve, and the corners are slightly depressed (see

How to Make Pottery

plate). A cup for the candle (see Fig. 26) is made
by rolling a piece of clay into cylindrical form,
about an inch and three-quarters in diameter and
two inches and a quarter long. At the top of this
roll, the finger makes a hollow for the candle. It
should be remembered that the clay shrinks both
in drying and firing, so this hole should be a trifle
large and deep for the candle.
The sides of the cup, at about an
inch from the top, are squared
and pressed in so that the
four corners will stand out like
columns. The hollowed sides
between the corners show the
mark of the thumb (see Fig. 26).
The centre of the base is now
wet with thick slip and the candle cup pressed
firmly on to it, while the edges are moulded closely
on to the base.

A piece of clay is then rolled and flattened into a
handle an inch in diameter and five inches long.
This is put on at one corner of the base, and is not
attached at any other point. Before moulding it
on to the base, touch the corner lightly with thick
slip, to insure its holding. Where the handle joins
the base it is made thick and substantial by adding

Fig. 26

Pottery for Beauty and Use

a little extra clay. The print of the thumb is made
where the handle joins the corner, another is
pressed on the top, and another still on the end of
the handle (see plate and Fig. 27). To support the
handle until it dries, roll a ball of soft paper under
it. After the candlestick has stood for a few hours
out - of - doors or in -
doors overnight, it is
carefully trimmed with
one of the wooden
tools or the sharp-
pointed metal one,
taking care to leave
sufficient thickness to
give it a sturdy, sub-
stantial character, yet
not enough to make it clumsy. It is then
rubbed over with a damp sponge and polished with
the thumb and finger, which will smooth away any
lumps and give the piece a hand-moulded look.
Should there be any very deep hollows to make it
uneven, they should be wet with slip very slightly
and filled in with clay as nearly the consistency of
that in the candlestick as possible. When it is
bone dry, it will be ready for the glaze (see Chap-
ter V.).

Fig. 27

74 How to Make Pottery

Bowl for a Lamp

Materials About 3$ pounds of clay,
required : A plaster mould for a bowl,

The wooden modelling tools,

The oval sheet steel tools,

The pointed steel tool,

A rolling-pin,

A flint bag,

A small sponge.

Having chosen a good mould for your bowl, brush
it inside with ground flint tied in a cotton cloth, so
that the clay will not stick to it. Now beat out a
piece of well- worked clay on a board, with the flat
of the hand, until it is perhaps two inches more in
diameter than the bottom of the mould, and half
an inch thick. It should be rolled smooth with
the rolling-pin. Lay it in the mould, pressing it
firmly against the bottom and sides. It may not
be out of place here to say that no tool but a wooden
one should be used in working in moulds, as metal
tools are liable to injure the plaster. The edge of
the bottom piece is next cut even with a wooden
modelling tool, and a lump of clay is formed into a
rude cube shape between the hands and then rolled
out on a table or board with the flat of the hand
till about three-quarters of an inch in diameter.
This roll of clay is flattened evenly for its whole

Pottery for Beauty and Use 75

length. The top edge of the bottom piece is marked
with criss-cross lines and wet with slip. The roll
of clay is then started on edge, along the top of the
bottom piece, pressed firmly down upon it and
against the sides of the mould. It is joined to the
bottom with firm, even strokes of the thumb or fore-
finger nail. When the circuit has been made, the
two ends, each cut in a long, flat point, so that they
will unite perfectly, are joined. Another roll is
now made, the upper edge of the previous coil is
wet with slip, and the coil is attached in the same
way, being careful to start at a different place from
where the previous coil was joined. Thus the whole
bowl is built up. Where there are any decided hol-
lows made by joining the coils, they should be filled
in with clay of the consistency of the piece, and the
bottom and sides smoothed with dampened finger
or modelling tool. If a moderately deep mould has
been chosen, after the sides are covered with layers
of clay, four or more coils may be added above the
mould to make a deeper bowl, continuing the sides
in a graceful line. To do this, when the first coil
above the mould has been attached, the bowl is
set away, out of doors for fifteen or twenty minutes
if it is in summer or indoors for a longer time if one
is working in the winter. Whenever two coils have

76 How to Make Pottery

been built up, the piece is set away to harden.
These coils, being free from the mould, can be
joined on the outside as well as within. They are
brought gradually in (see plate) until there is a
space five and a half inches in diameter at the top.
If a central-draught lamp is to be used in this bowl,
a pierced design will be practical, as it does away
with the necessity for a hole at the bottom of the
bowl. There is much to be done, however, before
the piece is ready for the design. When it has
stood for four or five hours or overnight, the bowl
can be lifted from the mould, the cracks on the out-
side where it was impossible to join the coils are
wet with slip and filled in with clay of the con-
sistency of the bowl, using the finger or a wooden
tool. When the bowl is quite dry, it is smoothed
inside and out, first with the oval tool with saw
teeth, and then with the smooth-edged one, as
described on page 19. The strokes with these tools
should be short and firm, in every direction. The
piece is then turned bottom up, a circle is drawn
half an inch in from the edge of the bottom, and
the clay within it scraped out, so as to leave a flat
surface slightly lower than the outer rim. This is
where the potter cuts his mark — a simple, quickly
made initial in lieu of a signature.

Pottery for Beauty and Use 77

The top edge, after it has been cut as true as pos-
sible by eye, is made absolutely even by the method
described on page 70. The whole piece is then
rubbed with a damp sponge and smoothed and
polished with the fingers. It is now ready for the
design (see Fig. 28).

The top edge of the bowl is marked off into fifths,
and at three-quarters of an inch from the top the

Fig. 28

design is drawn with pencil, so that each time it is
repeated the centre shall be directly below a mark
on the edge. It is first incised with a metal tool,
in firm, sure lines. Again the outline is traced,
this time more deeply. Then the clay within the
lines is cut out as deep as it has been incised, and
finally the sharp edge of the tool cuts through the
wall, close to the line. The left hand should sup-
port the inner wall of the bowl during this process.
When the whole design has been made, dip the
finger in water and soften the edges of the cut por-
tion. The bowl is now ready for glazing. If pos-

78 How to Make Pottery

sible, it will be better to fire such a large piece as
this in the biscuit before glazing. It will look well
if glazed with gray blue or dark green (see Chap-
ter V.).

Wall Jar for Plants or Flowers

Materials About 4J pounds of well-mixed clay,
required: A plaster slab about 10 by 12 inches,
The oval tools of sheet steel,
The pointed steel tool,
A rolling-pin,

Ultramarine blue water-colour paint,
A medium-sized paint-brush with fine point,
A saucerful of ground, baked clay, mixed with
water.

An Indian water-jar of basketry, smeared with
pinon gum, pointed at the bottom so that it could
be set upright in the ground or hung by leather
thongs to a tree, suggested the form of this jar.
One side is made flat, so that it can hang against the
wall of library or piazza holding some long trailing
plant that grows in water, ivy, or wandering Jew,
or wild flowers gathered on a walk through woods
and lanes. What more appropriate way to make
it than the Indian process described in Chapter II. ?
We shallneed about four and a half pounds of clay^
well mixed. A large lump, almost two pounds, is
flattened out on a table, with the thick part of the

Pottery for Beauty and Use

hand and then made even with the rolling-pin.
The sheet of clay should be ten by twelve inches,
and not less than three-eighths of an inch thick.
Upon it the jar form shown in Fig. 29 is outlined
with a pencil, making it as large as possible to allow
for shrinkage. It is then cut out with the pointed
steel tool and transferred very carefully to a large
plaster slab, where it remains while the walls are

being built upon it. A

coil of clay is rolled out,
as described in Chapter
II., and beginning at the
left side of the jar shape,
at the top, it is attached
to the edge (which has
previously been criss-
crossed with a steel tool
and wet with slip), all the way around to the op-
posite side of the top.

The jar is then put in the air until quite hard,
when the next coil is added in the same way. The
third coil is brought in a little toward the centre,
and subsequent coils come in still more, so as to
make the form that of a jar cut exactly in half.
After each coil is attached, it should be left in the
air to stiffen, or the clay beneath will not support

Fig. 29

How to Make Pottery

the coil in progress, so great is the strain in forming
such a shape. Each time a coil is added the wall
below should be criss-crossed with the steel tool
(an extra precaution) and wet with slip. Care
should be taken not to make the walls too thick, and
to join the coils and finish the inside as it is made ;
for, when the jar is completed, it is impossible to
get the hand and tool in far enough to smooth and
finish it well.

When the jar is made, except for a diamond-
shaped gap in the middle of the front wall, the
piece to fill it is cut and fitted in. It will lie almost
parallel with the back wall. Take care to make it
full large for the opening, and join it to the inner

edges most carefully, for
=^{1 jf* here, if anywhere, is the

jar liable to crack. The
top is now made even
by eye, using the point-
ed steel tool.

When the jar is some-
what dry, two handles
(see plate) are formed of
rolls of clay (the consist-
ency of that used in making the jar), five and a
half inches long by an inch wide and half an inch

Fig. 30

FOTTERY FOR BEAUTY AND USE

The pale-green rose-bowl with a moth design, at the left, has beside it a low Dutch
dish. On the right is a fruit-bowl with a deep-green mat-glaze.

HOW TO MAKE A PLASTER MOULD
At the left is a plaster mould, and beside it a rose-bowl which was partially formed
within it. See chapter VII.

^c-

POTTERY FOR BEAUTY AND I SK

The lamn-bowl on the left has a gray-b'ue mat-g'aze. Next to it is a candlestick, with
the marks of the potter's thumb on every part The wall-jar in the background is for
plants that grow in water. On the right is a t\ wtr candlestick in ereen and white.

Pottery for Beauty and Use 81

thick. These are firmly attached to the back wall
of the jar at the top (see plate), according to the
method described on pages 39 and 40. The deco-
ration (see Fig. 30) is drawn on the rounded front
wall of the jar with ultramarine water-colour, and
then built up with powdered burnt clay and water
(see directions in Chapter IV.). If possible, this
piece should be first fired in the biscuit. A glaze of
dark gray green (see Chapter V.) will finish it
most attractively.

Dutch Dish for Candy

Materials About i| pounds of clay,
icquired: The wooden modelling tools,

The sharp-pointed steel, tool,

A plaster tile,

A rolling-pin.

A quaint Dutch dish, brought from Holland
years ago, was the model for this sturdy little piece
of pottery. It may be used for candy or to hold a
vase of flowers, or a potted plant, protecting a pol-
ished table. A lump of clay is rolled on a table
with the hands and a rolling-pin to the thickness
of half an inch. Upon this clay sheet a rectangle
four and a quarter by four and a half inches is
drawn with a pencil and cut out with the pointed
steel tool. It is then transferred to a plaster tile.

82 How to Make Pottery

To the edge of this rectangle a coil of clay is
attached according to the directions in Chapter II.,
and flared slightly outward, taking care not to
make the corners sharp, but rounded and even.
After the first coil has stiffened, and the sides have
been made somewhat uniform and thin, it is cut
even by eye, curving the edge up gradually toward
the middle of the sides and depressing it slightly at
the corners.

A second coil is now added, but instead of at-
taching it to the top of the first one, it is joined just
below the top and inside the first coil. When it
has stiffened sufficiently in the air, the dish is
smoothed carefully inside and out with the hand
and the wooden modelling tools, making the walls
even and thin and perfecting the shape.

The effect of legs is given by cutting under the
sides, beginning half an inch above the bottom. If
this is started three-quarters of an inch from the
corners, it will leave a sturdy, short leg an inch and
a half wide at each of the four corners of the dish.

A roll of clay about five and a half inches long, an
inch wide, and three-eighths of an inch thick is
made into a handle (see plate), which is attached
at the middle of one of the sides of the dish. At
the two points where it is to be joined, the side of

Pottery for Beauty and Use 83

the dish is criss-crossed with the steel tool and wet
with slip.

The bottom is finished by drawing a square
with a pencil, half an inch in from the edge, and
depressing it within the square, so as to leave a
flat, even surface. The potter's mark is then made
within this square.

A pale green mat -glaze (see Chapter V.) makes
a charming finish for this piece.

Rose-Bowl with Moth Design

Materials About 5 pounds of clay,
required : A rolling-pin,

The oval sheet- steel tools,

The pointed-steel tool,

The steel tool with a flat end,

A plaster tile.

This rose-bowl, which is shown in the plate,
was built up without a pasteboard outline. If
one's eye is reasonably true this is not a difficult
matter, but otherwise the outline process (see
Chapter II.) may be followed.

A piece of clay is first patted flat with the hand,
and then rolled out with the rolling-pin, until it
is six inches square and about five-eighths of an
inch thick. Upon this clay sheet a circle is marked,
five inches in diameter, cut out and placed on a

How to Make Pottery

plaster tile. The edge is criss-crossed with a steel
tool and wet with slip, and the first coil is attached
(see Chapter II.).
Two coils are built up, and then they are pressed

outward to form the
beginning of the out-
line, shown in Fig 31.
This outline was taken
from the lower sweep of
the wings of a lunar
Fig. 31 moth, and the same

moth forms the relief design upon it (see Fig. 32).
The bowl is then put out-of-doors until the
clay is sufficiently firm to support two more coils.
These are added; flar-
ing them to follow the
outline, and then the
bowl is put away to
harden — in the air, if
the temperature is not
too cold, otherwise in-
doors. It is built up
exactly as was the flower
jar in Chapter II., ex-
cept that there is no cardboard outline to test it ;
the eye alone is the guide. Great care should be

Fig. 32

Pottery for Beauty and Use 85

taken not to add the coils until those below
are quite stiff, for the decided flare makes it
difficult to keep the sides firm and true in
outline. The circumference of the bowl, at its
widest part, should be about thirty inches.
YVTien it is finished, the sides within and with-
out are smoothed, first with the saw-edged
oval tool, then with the smooth one. The edge is
cut as true as possible by eye, and made perfectly
level by pressing it quickly and lightly on the
ground -glass slab, wet with clear water, as already
described. A damp sponge is then passed over
the piece, inside and out, while the fingers rub and
polish it dry.

The bottom is finished and the potter's mark
made as described in Chapter II.

When the bowl is thoroughly dry — say the
following day — it is ready for the decoration.

Divide the circumference of the top of the bowl
into fifths, with pencil marks, lightly made. Then
draw the design upon it, so that the top of the up-
per wings shall be not less than an inch from the
edge of the bowl. Make the moths as nearly life
size as the bowl will allow. Three and a half
inches across, from tip to tip of the upper wings,
with spaces an inch and a half between them, will

86 How to Make Pottery

look well, if the bowl is large enough. Having
drawn the design in pencil, outline it firmly with
the sharp steel tool, taking care to bevel the edge
of the design. Never cut under the edge, as the
glaze will not flow well over it. Go over the out-
line, making it firm and deep, with a wooden
point. Now, starting close to the edge of the
moth, with the flat-pointed steel tool scrape away
from it, so as to cut as deep as the outline, close
to the design, and shave off to nothing at about
half an inch from it. This will give a low relief
effect, which is very attractive. The antennas
are incised (see Chapter IV.), and the markings
of the moth may be built up with ground, baked
clay, so as to heighten the relief. The bowl may
be glazed a pale green with a slight yellow tinge
(see Chapter V.) to suggest the colour of the
moth. It should, however, if possible be fired
first in the biscuit.

Flower Candlestick

Materials About i§ pounds of clay,
required: The wooden modelling tools,
A plaster tile.

A candlestick in flower form may be made in

green and white, for a bedroom in a country house.

Five leaves, much the shape of poppy leaves.

Pottery for Beauty and Use 87

radiate from the centre, making a base from which
the stem rises for three inches. A round, slightly-
flattened calyx, topped by a five-petalled flower,
forms the cup for the candle. A sixth leaf, start-
ing at the centre of the base, curls over until its
tip rests sideways against the stem, serving the
double purpose of a handle and a brace for the
stem. The base should be modelfed first, from
a single piece of clay, placed on a plaster tile. Care
should be taken to have it sufficiently thick — at
teast half an inch in most places. Although the
leaves should be indicated, do not try to carry
the leaf form way to the centre of the base. Let
the irregular outline of the whole base, with an
occasional raised tip, or edge of a leaf, suggest
rather than imitate leaves. The leaf that forms
the handle will, of course, be more carefully mod-
elled. Now mould the stem, about an inch in
diameter and three inches long, with the calyx
on the end, an inch and three-quarters in diameter,
and an inch high. After criss-crossing the middle
of the base with the pointed-steel tool, wet it with
slip and set the stem on the base, working the
edges firmly on to it with the flat of the nail and
wooden modelling tools. The leaf for the handle
is brought over against the stem with a graceful

88 How to Make Pottery

turn, and there fastened with a touch of slip and
some clay added underneath. Be careful to have
the whole candlestick substantial, and not at all
thin in construction, or it will suggest metal work
rather than pottery.

After the candlestick has stiffened for a few
hours, a five-pet ailed flower, three and three-
quarter inches in diameter, is modelled and put
on top of the calyx, which has first been criss-
crossed and wet with slip. The cup for the candle
is next hollowed out in the centre of the flower and
calyx, raising the edge of the flower centre slightly
above the surrounding petals. The candle cup
should be a trifle larger than it will need to be
when finished, as it shrinks somewhat in drying
and firing, and the glaze, too, fills it up a little.
Be sure, also, to have it deep enough to hold the
candle.

The base, stem, and handle are finished with a
gray green mat -glaze (see Chapter V.), while the
petals are white — the uncoloured mat-glaze.

How to Make a Plaster
Mould

CHAPTER VII

HOW TO MAKE A PLASTER MOULD

In building pieces of pottery whose walls have
a decided flare, a plaster mould will be found most
useful. Its sides support the coils of clay and
enable the potter to form his piece much more
rapidly and surely than he could by eye, or even
with the cardboard outline.

It should, however, be used with judgment,
rather as an aid in beginning a piece which is after-
ward finished by eye than as a mould in which
pieces are duplicated. Turning out many pieces
exactly alike savours of commercialism and does
not develop the potter's individuality. Several
bowl-shaped moulds, varied in form and flare, if
used as suggested, will be a great assistance to the
potter. They are made quite easily, as follows:

A Bowl-shaped Mould of Plaster

Materials 6 or 8 pounds of clay, well mixed,
required : A bowl, or mould in bowl shape,
A dishpan full of plaster of paris,

92 How to Make Pottery

A dishpan of water,

A bag of ground flint,

A piece of oilcloth 8 inches wide by i\ yards

long,
2 clothes pins,
A stout cord or rope,
A wooden wedge,
A few drops of olive oil,
The wooden modelling tools,
The rectangular tool of sheet steel,
A large hoe-shaped tool,
A large kitchen spoon.

Having chosen the bowl that you wish to copy,
dust it with a cotton cloth in which ground flint
is tied, and roll out a piece of clay two or more
inches larger in diameter than the bottom of the
bowl, and about an inch thick. Press this care-
fully into the bottom, making sure that it touches
everywhere. Now roll out several other pieces
of the same thickness, large enough to reach from
the upper edge of the bottom piece to the rim of
the bowl, and four or five inches wide. The upper
edge of the bottom piece having been cut even and
wet with slip, these pieces are pressed down firmly
and joined to it with the nail stroke before men-
tioned. Great care is also taken to press these
pieces against the sides of the bowl. When the
bowl is lined in this way with a coating of clay
an inch or more in thickness at every point close

How to Make a Plaster Mould 93

against its walls, the clay is smoothed evenly on
top, on a line with the rim of the bowl (using the
rectangular tool of sheet steel) and set outside to
harden.

When somewhat firm, the bowl is filled in with
clay until only a space the size of a man's hand
is left in the middle. It is then set away, this
time over night, to harden.

The next day the clay will have dried and shrunk
sufficiently to enable the potter to slip it out of the
mould. Any cracks or hollows that may be found
on the outside are wet with slip and filled in with
clay of the consistency of the piece. After the
clay is quite dry, the form of the mould should be
made perfectly true by hand (using the oval sheet-
steel tools) or on the wheel. If the latter method
is chosen, place the clay mould bottom side up
on the wheel, centre it (according to the directions
in Chapter III), and, taking a large hoe-shaped
tool, hold it firmly, bracing the hand still better
with a stick laid across from a plaster mould, or
other convenient object, on the table, to one's lap.
Having set the wheel in motion, hold the dull point
of the tool so that it just touches the wall of the
mould, near the wheel. Move the point up very
slightly with each revolution of the wheel — this

How to Make Pottery

will trim and perfect the sides. The bottom is
made even in the same way. Now wash the wheel
outside of the mould carefully and oil it with olive
oil. Take a piece of heavy oilcloth, about eight
inches wide and long enough to reach around the
wheel, overlapping about a foot. Placing it with
the right side in, draw it tightly and fasten with
clothes pins (see Fig. 33). Next tie a rope or

stout cord around the
oilcloth, about on a
level with the wheel,
and, to make it more
secure, wedge it with
a piece of wood. Roll
strips of clay about
the diameter of a
lead pencil, and stop the
cracks where the oilcloth overlaps, also between the
oilcloth and the wheel, very carefully, so as not to
touch the clay mould. Be careful, from now on,
not to move the wheel until the mould is made.
Now mix your plaster of paris, as follows: Have
an empty basin or dishpan, large enough to hold
the quantity necessary for the mould — you will
learn to judge this pretty well by eye. Put in as
much water as you will need, and sift gradually

Fig. 33

How to Make a Plaster Mould 95

into it, by the handfuls, the dry plaster, pressing
out all lumps; in this way the water will reach
every particle. When there is a small island of
plaster, about an inch above the surface of the
water, there will be enough. Let the plaster get
thoroughly saturated by the water, as it will in a
few minutes ; then mix with the hands or a large
spoon until it is the consistency of* thick cream.
Pour it gradually around and over the clay mould,
not all in one place, until it is about an inch and a
half or two inches above the bottom of it. Let
it set for an hour or more until it seems perfectly
hard. The oilcloth is then taken off, and with
the dull point of the hoe-shaped tool the bottom
is trimmed true on the wheel, in the same way as
the wheel-made pottery is finished. The sides
should also be smoothed and made even with the
straight-edged sheet-steel tool. It then looks like
a great frosted cake. When the plaster is hard
and set, the mould is taken from the wheel and
reversed, so that the clay may be removed. To
do this, dig out the inside of the clay mould with
a large sheet -steel tool, taking care not to come
near the plaster, which would be injured by the
steel. The shell of clay remaining can be easily
lifted out with the fingers.

How to Make Pottery

One who does not own a wheel can make a
mould by setting the clay bowl, bottom up, in
the centre of a small shallow bread or dish pan,
which must then be well oiled on its inner surface.
The plaster of paris is mixed and poured around
and over the clay mould, as already described.
If one uses a great deal of clay, plaster basins

may be made for drying
out the superfluous
water from the clay
after it has been mixed.
These are moulded in
the form shown in Fig.
34, the straight - sided
circular cavity in the
centre being about three
inches deep, and the
whole slab perhaps sixteen inches square. The
basin part, like the bowl-shaped mould just de-
scribed, is first formed in solid clay, and the
mould is made in the same manner.

Plaster slabs, both round and square, to hold
the pieces of pottery while they are being made
and dried, may also be moulded.

Fig. 34

How to Make a Plaster Mould 97

Rose-Bowl Started in a Mould

Materials A bowl-shaped mould of plaster, 3^ inches in
required : diameter at the bottom and 9 J inches at

the top,

About 3 J pounds of clay,

A bag of ground flint,

The wooden modelling tools,

The oval tools of sheet steel,

The sharp-pointed steel tool,

A bowl of slip,

A small sponge,

A rolling-pin.

A charming rose-bowl may be built up in the
plaster mould described in this chapter. About
three and a half pounds of well-worked clay will
be needed, and the usual tools.

A small lump of clay is first patted out with the
hands on a table or board, then rolled smooth
with a rolling-pin until it is three-eighths of an
inch thick and about six inches across. This is
laid into the bottom of the mould, which has
previously been dusted with ground flint tied in
a cotton cloth. The clay is pressed lightly, but
carefully, against the bottom and sides, and then
made even at its upper edge with a wooden tool.
Strokes of the wooden modelling tool, cutting this
upper edge criss-cross, and a touch of slip, prepare
it for the first roll of clay, which is made and at-

98 How to Make Pottery

t ached as described in Chapter II. These coils
need not be as thick as those used in making the
first pieces. As the worker gains experience, he
can make the walls of his pieces much lighter than
at first, and still keep them strong. Subsequent
coils are joined in the same way, taking care to
press each against the wall of the mould, as well
as upon the coil beneath. When the sides of the
bowl are covered, a coil is attached above the
edge of the mould. This should be almost ver-
tical, instead of flaring, and a second coil (which
is joined after the first has stiffened out-of-doors
for twenty minutes) is brought in slightly toward
the centre. The bowl is then left over night,
when it will be quite dry and have shrunk suffi-
ciently to slip easily out of the mould. It is turned
bottom up on a table, and the cracks between the
coils are wet with slip and carefully filled in with
clay of the consistency of the bowl. After it has
been set away to harden for a few hours, it is made
smooth and even with the oval tools of sheet steel
as described in previous chapters. In trimming
the walls to an even thickness, they may be made
comparatively thin — a little less than a quarter
of an inch. Next the bottom is finished and
the potter's mark made. The edge, after it

How to Make a Plaster Mould 99

has been bevelled by eye, is perfected on the
ground-glass slab.

The piece is now ready for its decoration. This
is the design shown in Fig. 35 The circumference
of the top of the bowl is divided into fifths, and

Fig. 35

marks are made in pencil half an inch below the
rim. Just below each of these marks the design
is drawn, placing it so that if a line were drawn
straight down from the pencil mark, one of the
oval figures would be on each side of it. The cen-
tre of the design is pierced, as indicated in Fig 35,
by the method described in Chapter IV., and a
deep incised line surrounds it.

A pale green mat-glaze (see Chapter V.) com-
pletes the bowl.

The Making of a Tile

CHAPTER VIII

THE MAKING OF A TILE

The ancient Egyptians were prob.ably the first
tile - makers. Some of their most remarkable
pieces of enamel work are clay plaques or slabs,
made as early as 1300 B. C. Figures of men and
animals were drawn upon them, modelled in low
relief, and coated with enamels, brilliant and beau-
tiful in colour.

In other tiles a kind of mosaic was made — a
combination of fine clay and enamels, which were
mixed into soft pastes. The design was modelled
and fitted together in these coloured pastes, which,
when they were fired, the heat fixed and vitrified.
Again these cunning craftsmen left in the clay
incisions forming a design. Into these settings,
so to speak, small pieces of glass or enamel were
fitted, and when fused into place by the heat of the
kiln suggested jewels.

Now-a-days our artist potters are designing
and modelling tile for wall and floor decoration

103

104

How to Make Pottery

Fig. 36

— whole mantels to match the colour scheme of
a library or my lady's boudoir.

To the uninitiated,
the making of a tile
seems almost too simple
to learn — just a slab of
clay, cut square and
baked. Simple enough
it is, to be sure, yet it
has difficulties enough
to make it interesting.
Suppose we mould a
tile and learn by experience just what the difficul-
ties are and how to surmount them.

The clay that is used
in moulding tiles is the
same as that of which
the other pieces of pot-
tery are made — i. e., a
mixture of fire and ball
or blue clay with the ad-
dition of a large amount
of what is called
by potters, "grog."
This is fire clay which after baking becomes pale
yellow in colour and quite hard. It is pounded

Fig. 37

The Making of a Tile 105

into pieces the size of a small pea, and smaller,
and mixed thoroughly through the clay, to act
as a tempering agent. Mould in as much of the
"grog" as the clay will hold. Too much will
make it lose its plasticity and separate into small
lumps, but short of this the more "grog" the tile
clay contains the better, as, being baked and
shrunken, it minimises the chances of cracking
by shrinkage.

In making a tile, the following materials will be
required :

About 4% pounds of tile clay,

A level board, about 15 by 20 inches,

A frame made by screwing a strip of wood,
I of an inch thick by 2 inches wide and 21
inches long, on each of the long edges of a
board, 14$ inches wide by 21 inches long,

3 pieces of white cheese-cloth, 15 by 21 inches,

A rolling-pin,

The rectangular sheet-steel tool,

A T square or a piece of sheet metal, 8 by 8
inches,

A strong, sharp knife,

A bowl of slip,

The boxwood modelling tools,

The pointed- steel tool,

The steel tool with flat point.

To begin with, a large piece of tile clay is worked
until all the air-holes are out of it, as already de-
scribed.

io6

How to Make Pottery

A wooden board which is absolutely level, having

previously been covered with a piece of wet, white

cheese-cloth, which is
tacked securely upon it,
the clay is moulded into
a square by hand and
laid upon the board.
It is then pounded flat
with the thick part of
the hand into an irregu-
lar square cake, and
rolled with a rolling-pin,

wet with slip, until it is a little less than half an

inch thick.

A wooden frame made

of a board fourteen and

a half inches wide by

twenty-one inches long,

with a strip of wood

the same length, seven-
eighths of an inch thick

when planed, and two

inches wide, screwed on

Fig. 39
to each of the long

edges, should have been provided beforehand. A

piece of wet cheese-cloth is spread upon this board,

The Making of a Tile

107

and the clay square is carefully transferred to it,
fitting it carefully into the form by patting and
pressing with the hand.
It should then be
smoothed with the rec-
tangular tool of sheet
steel.

The tile must now be
reinforced for the reason
that the outer edge,
which dries and shrinks
first, would naturally Fig. 40

crack when the inside finally dried and shrank, and
so spoil the tile. When reinforced, the edges, being

double thickness, dry
more slowly, making the
whole tile shrink evenly.
Six pieces of clay are
rolled into as many
rope-like strips. Five
of these strips are pat-
ted flat with the hand
until they are about an
inch and a half wide

Fig. 41

and not quite half an inch thick. They are then
laid along the outer edges of the tile, which have

108 How to Make Pottery

first been lightly brushed with slip, and across the
middle (see Fig. 36), pressing them firmly onto the
tile and joining the edges carefully. The sixth strip
is cut into two short pieces, which are laid in at the
centre, between the three strips crossing the tile
(see Fig. 36), and firmly attached by moulding
them against the other strips and working the edges
on to the tile upon which a touch of slip has been
brushed. A damp piece of cheese-cloth is laid on
the tile and it is again rolled with the rolling-pin.
Next it is made smooth with the sheet- steel tool,
and the four depressions are moulded evenly, as
shown in Fig. 37. It is then set away over night,
to get in proper condition to cut and finish.

The following day put a board on the bottom of
the tile and reverse the frame so that the tile will
slide off on to the board. Then with a T square or
a piece of sheet metal eight by eight inches (the size
of the tile) laid upon it, cut around the edges with
a sharp, strong knife. The tile is then set away
to receive its decoration, which should be made the
day following.

Care should always be taken to lay the tile only
upon an absolutely level board or other fiat surface
in drying, as otherwise it will warp and dry un-
evenly.

The Making of a Tile

109

Fig. 42

Having chosen a simple design — for example, the

one shown in Fig. 38 — draw it upon the tile in pencil.

Next go over the lines

with the pointed tool of

boxwood, and with a

curved pointed wooden

tool incise the outline

still deeper. Make a

clean-cut, firm outline,

broad and deep, with a

bevelled edge. This is,

of course, supposing

that the tile has not become very dry, in which

case the tool used should be the pointed steel one,

finishing with the wood-
en tool. The whole
design should be deeply
incised with firm, sure
strokes. The pieces of
"grog" which the tool
will run against now
and then will not injure
the outline if the hand
is firm. Should one by

mistake cut away more of the design than was

intended, it can easily be repaired with a touch of

Fig. 43

no How to Make Pottery

slip and a small piece of clay, the consistency of
the tile, worked in with the pointed steel tool.

The portions of the design which are indicated by
dots in Fig. 38 are depressed with the flat-pointed
steel tool, according to the method for leaving the
design in low relief, described in Chapter IV. Be-
fore setting the tile away to dry for the last time,
the potter incises his mark on the back. A dull
yellow mat-glaze or a gray green one (see Chapter
V.) will finish it attractively.

A tile such as this, eight inches square, is rather
large for some purposes ; it is, however, most effec-
tive as a decoration, and may do practical service in
holding a flower-pot or vase of flowers — protecting
a table or wooden mantel from moisture.

Fireplace tiles are, of course, considerably
smaller, and those for use on a table are lighter as
well. They are made by the same process, only
using a smaller frame and rolling the clay thinner.

Some designs for tiles are shown in Figs. 39, 40,
41, 42, and 43.

The Kiln

CHAPTER IX

THE KILN

Pottery, until it is fired, has little or no practical
value. One who owns a piece of Gay Head ware,
made in Martha's Vineyard, and called by the name
of the bluffs of whose clay it is made, will ap-
preciate this. Though charming in colour, a
terra-cotta background with swirling lines of pale
yellow, black and white, it can only be put in one
spot — on the highest shelf, out of reach of children
and others who like to "look with their hands."
If it were baked, the colour which is its chief
charm would be lost, and it is therefore so fragile
that a rude touch will break or deface it. In the
early days of pottery -making, when utility was
everything, pots for cooking and domestic pur-
poses were baked either before the fire, or covered
with bark and other burning fuel, which hardened
the clay and made it strong enough for service.
We do not find traces of kilns, however, among the
relics of those early potters.

ii4 How to Make Pottery

Probably the first people to use the kiln were the
old Egyptians.

One which is represented in their mural paintings
was a high, circular chamber made of brick. The
floor, near the bottom, was perforated, and beneath
it was the fuel, which was put in through an open-
ing on the side.

The kiln used by the early Greek potters had a
place for fuel on one side, and an upper chamber for
the pieces of pottery, with a door through which
it could be put in and withdrawn. This differed
from the Egyptian kiln only in having a dome.

Many of the kilns of the present day are
shaped almost exactly like those used by the early
Greeks. So important a part does the kiln play in
perfecting a piece of pottery — putting the final
touch upon it : the touch that shall make or mar —
that the potter realises he must plan, before any-
thing else, either to own a good kiln or to know of
one where his pieces can be sent to be fired. Un-
less one wishes to make pottery on a large scale, as
a business, the expense and care of owning one's
own kiln is unnecessary. There are makers of art
pottery near the principal cities who for a reason-
able amount will fire one's pieces admirably, and
with much less risk than an amateur could possibly

The Kiln

do them — that is, providing one uses the
same kind of clay as is employed by the
owners of the kiln where one's pottery is to be
fired. If not, this clay can usually be purchased
at the pottery ready
mixed at slight ex-
pense. Even though
one may not care to
assume the cost and
responsibility of
owning a kiln, it
may be of interest
to know something
of the construction
of kilns and how
they do their work.

THE OPEN-FIRE KILN

The open-fire kiln
is preferred by many
potters. Such kilns
have been used for
generations by pot-
ters in England ; and
for ware that needs hard firing they have
proved most reliable. Fig. 44 shows the in-

Fig. 44
A is the chamber for the

pottery.

B the fireboxes.

CC the firebacks.

DDDDD the passage and
outlets through which the
heat enters the kiln.

How to Make Pottery

terior of one of these kilns, and Fig. 45 the
ground plan. From these diagrams one can get an
idea of the principle on which such kilns are run.
This kiln is built mostly of fire-brick, and should be
under cover for more than one reason. First, there
is no danger from frost if the kiln is inclosed by a

wooden building, and
then it is more conven-
ient for the potter to do
his work where he is not
exposed to the weather.
The kiln is circular,
built on a foundation of
brick or stone, and
strengthened with bands
of wrought iron. At all
four sides of the central

Fig. 45
AAA A are the fire-boxes.

BBBBBBBBBBBB the pas- „t,™vor. ml,0rQ +^0 .nt
sages for the hot air. P chamber, where the pot-

CCCCC the outlets for the tery is placed, are fire-
hot air. J F

boxes where the coal is

fed on to a grate below the level of the floor of
the chamber. The hot air from the fire - boxes
finds two outlets, one through a direct escape,
close to the box, the other through a passage
and out at the centre of the floor. Within the cen-
tral chamber are piled the saggers — great circular

The Kiln 117

boxes or drums made of fire- clay — all of which,
if possible, contain pottery, but, whether full
or empty, they must fill up the chamber, as
their clay holds and radiates heat which would
otherwise be lost. The office of the saggers is
to protect the pieces of pottery from direct
contact with the flame, smoke, and. ashes of
the fire.

The heat from the fire-boxes, if it rushed directly
into the kiln, would fire the pieces near the bottom
of the chamber too hard, so slabs of fire-brick, called
firebacks, are arranged so as to send the heat up
(see Fig. 44). It then, passing up between the
saggers (which, stacked one above the other, form
flues to improve the draught) , passes off at the top
opening. This aperture, as will be seen in Fig. 44,
has a slab supported by bricks above it to control
the draught. The heat escapes through the cone,
and thus through the chimney. The cone is made
of ordinary bricks, and its office is to help the
draught. There is another kind of kiln much like
this model, except that it has a down draught.
The heated air, as it escapes, passes down through
an opening in the floor, along a horizontal pass-
age, up and out. This keeps the heat in the kiln
for a longer time, but it also confines the gases,

n8 How to Make Pottery

which affect the colour of the ware so that it is not
practicable for art pottery.

Seen from the outside on a day when the kiln is
being filled, its aspect is quite different. Inside
the great brick chamber, workmen are stacking the
saggers filled with pieces of pottery, some of which,
not yet packed, are standing on tables near at hand.
They look wan and pale, faint grayish- green, or
leaden gray. Not until they have felt the fierce
heat of the kiln will they glow with living green or
will the beauty of their blues appear. Yellow that
is almost orange seems to be only a deep cream
colour before it is fired. Then there are pieces of
green, or unbaked clay, to be fired in the biscuit —
that is, without the glaze. These are put in another
part of the kiln.

Just a word about the saggers. These huge, rough
boxes of burnt fire-clay, whose office has already
been spoken of, are sometimes bottomless, simply
rings. Should a sagger be too low to contain a
piece that is placed in it (as is often the case), one
can build up the clay-box to the required height
with the bottomless saggers. Between every two
saggers rolls of clay are laid (coiled around the
edge) to hold them together. When the kiln is
filled at last with its stacks of saggers, the doorway

The Kiln 119

is bricked up and the fire started. The open-fire
kiln requires the best part of three days to
complete it. The first day it is filled with pot-
tery and the fire started. In firing a kiln, the heat
should be raised very slowly. All that night the
fire is watched and fed, as it must be kept at the
requisite temperature, for if it gets low, or, as the
potters say, "slips," the glaze is spoiled and the
pottery must all be reglazed and fired again. The
weather affects the kiln, the draught not being so
good on a damp or rainy day as on a fair one ; and
the coal also must be specially chosen for the kiln.
It takes several tons to fire one kiln, so that the
success or failure of a firing is no light matter. The
second day much attention must be given to keep-
ing the fire up, and at about nightfall the guides are
drawn as follows:

At equal distances around the kiln are four peep-
holes— small, round apertures on a level with the
eye, which are closed with a cylindrical tube having
a transparent asbestos end. In the glare of the
kiln, directly on a line with these peep-holes, one can
see a row of clay rings, which were daubed with
glaze before the fire was started. Having with-
drawn the cylinder which closes the hole, the potter
runs in a long metal rod, with a hook on the end,

120

How to Make Pottery

catches a ring, and draws it out. He can tell from
the appearance of this ring, or guide, how the kiln
is firing and about when the pieces will be done.

Usually they are
finished that night,
but the kiln is not
opened until it has
cooled for many
hours.

THE MUFFLE KILN

The muffle kiln is
shown in Fig. 46.

This fires at a low
degree of heat, com-
pared with the open-
fire kiln. It is
mostly used for
under-glaze pottery
and for glazing. In
this kiln the fire
could not come in
direct contact with
the ware, so that
saggers are unnecessary; instead, there is a
system of shelves upon which the pottery is placed.

Fig. 46

A is the muffle-box or chamber

for the pottery.
B B B B B B B are the arches

supporting the box and other

parts of the kiln.
C C The doors where the fuel

and pottery respectively are

put in.
D D D The^ passages for the

heated air.
E The ash-pan.

The Kiln 121

The fuel, which may be wood, is fed through a door
on one side of the lower part of the kiln, with an
ash-box below. A brick arch supports the muffle-
box or chamber where the pottery is placed. On
the opposite side from the furnace door is the open-
ing through which the pieces are put into the kiln.
This is carefully bricked up before the fire is started.
The hot air passes through a passage extending
around all sides and above the box, and the out-
let is over the door where the pottery goes in.
A slab extending nearly across this outlet controls
the draught.

Basket-Covered Pottery

CHAPTER X

BASKET-COVERED POTTERY

There has always been a close connection be-
tween pottery and basketry. Those who study
Indian handicrafts learn that pottery was evolved
from basketry in the long ago. Neltje Blanchan
suggests that it may have happened in some such
way as this: "Perhaps a hunter returned home
hungry one day . . . and his wife, anxious to
hasten dinner for her impatient lord, coated her
cooking - basket with clay that she might set it
directly over the fire without danger of burning.
Imagine the woman's surprise and joy to find, on
removing it from the embers after dinner, that she
had a basket plus an earthenware pot!"

The two crafts have helped each other from that
day to this. The Indian woman suspends her
earthen cooking- jar with coils of wild grapevine,
which ever and anon she smears with wet clay when
the flames come too near. Japanese craftsmen
enmesh their pottery jars with wistaria stems to
125

126 How to Make Pottery

protect them from breakage, or to suspend them
against the wall, where growing plants or trailing
vines may fill them to overflowing. Even the little
ginger jar one buys for a few cents in Chinatown
has its case and handle of pliant cane.

Charming things may be made for the beautify-
ing of one's own or another's house if one knows
something of the two crafts. A few of them are
described in the following pages :

Indian Pottery Bowl Suspended with Raffia

Materials An Indian pottery bowl in white and Indian
required : red, 6 inches in diameter at the top,

A bunch of Indian red raffia,

A curtain ring,

A tapestry needle Xo. 18.

Any one who has made raffia hats with the knots
that our mothers used to call macrame in the early
eighties, will see by a glance at the plate how the
network of raffia which incloses this bowl is
fashioned. The bowl is the first consideration. It
may be bought at an Indian store for about a dollar;
or, if one prefers, one can mould one's own bowl of
flower-pot clay. In that case, however, the white
background which is so effective in the Indian ware
will be missed.

To begin with: Thread a Xo. 18 tapestry needle

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Wf-

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C g °

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gl H

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« .2 "S

ow oi
elow
se-ha

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£ d 3

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« 13 £

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Basket-Covered Pottery

127

with a strand of Indian red raffia. Twist the end
three or four times around the middle and fore-
finger of the left hand, and cover the small ring
thus made with button-hole stitches. The ring
should be about an inch in diameter.

Finish off the end of the raffia by sewing several
stitches through and through
the ring. Pin this ring to
a cushion on one's lap or to
some firm, soft object near
at hand. Take two strands
of raffia, double them
around the ring, and with
the four ends thus made
tie a Solomon's knot as
follows : Hold the two upper
strands straight and taut.
Bend the under strand on
the left across them to the
right (see Fig. 47), and bring the under strand
on the right over the end of the left strand, back of
the middle strands, and through the loop made
by the left strand in starting. Another pair of
strands is knotted on in the same way, and
another, until there are thirteen groups around
the ring. Beginning anywhere on the ring, the

Fig. 47

128 How to Make Pottery

strands on the right of a group are brought
beside the two on the left of the group to the
right of it, and the middle pair of the four are
held straight down, while the strands on the right
and left are knotted upon them as already de-
scribed. This knot should be about half an inch
from those in the previous row. Make a double
knot this time — that is, repeat the process already
described. Take the strand which was on the left
after the first knot was tied, bring it over the middle
strands to the right, and after bringing the strand
on the right over the end of the left one and back
of the middle strands, pass it up through the loop
made by the left strand in starting. The two
strands at the right of the right-hand group are
next knotted in the same way with two on the left
of the next group to the right, and so it goes on
around the net — making a double Solomon's knot
each time.

Five rows more of this knotting are made, each
row being half an inch from the previous one, except
the fifth, which is three-quarters of an inch from
the fourth. Now bring all the strands from three
groups together at an inch and three-quarters from
the last row of knotting. Hold the middle one of
the three groups taut, and tie the strands to right

Basket-Covered Pottery '129

and left upon it in a Solomon's knot. Tie another
knot close to the first one, and another, until there
are seven — one below the other. Three more
groups are brought together at an inch and three-
quarters from the last row of knotting, and tied in
the same way. Then another three. The fourth
bunch will have four groups of strands *in it (as
there were thirteen groups in all at starting) . Two
of these groups, the middle ones, are held taut, and
those to left and right are tied upon this double
group as the others were. Then, taking the long
ends of one of these bunches, tie them again in three
Solomon's knots at an inch and three-quarters from
the seventh knot. They are next brought straight
down without knotting, for two inches more, when
two knots are made. For two and three-quarter
inches more they are brought without knotting,
then tied and wound around a large ring — an old
curtain ring about two inches in diameter will do.
When all four bunches have been knotted in the
same way, and the ends of all have been fastened
securely to the curtain ring, the ring is covered
neatly with button-hole stitch in raffia, and
a raffia binding about half an inch wide is
made just below the ring, where the strands are
fastened to it.

130 How to Make Pottery

Green Pottery Jar Inclosed and Suspended with
Brown Rattan

Materials The Pottery Jar: About 2 J pounds of clay,
required? The wooden modelling tools,

The rectangular tool of sheet steel,

The pointed steel tool,

A bowl of slip,

A small sponge,

The Basket Covering: About six lengths of
No. 4 deep-brown rattan,

A piece of fine but strong wire 24 inches long,

A pair of pliers,

A bunch of deep-brown raffia.

Around the quaint and attractive hanging jar
from which this one is copied is woven a tale as
curious as its covering of knotted brown twigs. It
is this: the rectangular green jar, which looks like
a pottery box, was once the casket in which some
Chinese lady kept her pomades and perfumes.
When she slept, her head, which had been dressed
most elaborately with the aforesaid pomades, was
laid upon this same pottery box for a pillow —
another instance of the painfulness of pride in
China !

How strange the little Chinese lady would think
it of us to use her earthen pillow as we do — for a
hanging flower- jar! Who covered it with knotted
wistaria twigs ? I should suspect it was some deft-

Basket-Covered Pottery 131

fingered Japanese — though the jar was bought in
Hawaii.

It will not be very difficult to copy. First there
is the box-like jar to be made. A rectangular bot-
tom is cut from a well-worked lump of clay after
it has been patted flat with the hand and rolled
with the rolling-pin. It should be five by three
and a half inches — which allows an inch on length
and breadth for shrinkage. Upon this foundation
coils of clay are built, as described in previous
chapters, making them thinner, however, than
usual — not over a quarter of an inch thick. As the
walls are built they should be finished carefully
inside and out, keeping them straight and true at
the corners, as well as on all sides. When the jar
is seven and a quarter inches high, the top is
made even by eye and perfected on the ground-
glass slab, as described in Chapter II. A rectan-
gular piece of clay is then rolled and cut the size of
the bottom ; an oval piece about two by three inches
is cut out of the middle, with the pointed steel tool,
and it is left on a plaster slab to stiffen for half an
hour. The upper edge of the jar is then criss-
crossed with the pointed steel tool and wet with
slip, and this flat top is attached to it deftly and
carefully. After drying for several hours, it may

132 How to Make Pottery

be finished with the sheet -steel tool, the shape per-
fected, and the surface dampened with a sponge
and polished with the fingers. When it has dried
for several days it is coated with a glossy green
glaze and fired.

The covering of knotted rattan is made as fol-
lows: Six pliable lengths of No. 4 brown rattan
are needed for this covering. They must be care-
fully selected, for as they are to be tied they should,
when wet, be almost as pliable as cord. It is not
difficult to find them as soft as this, especially after
they have been dyed. In starting, a length of rat-
tan which has been wet until soft is tied around the
jar at about half an inch from the top. The long
end is twisted once around this foundation ring.
This may be done off of the jar if it is easier. When
the ring has been replaced on the jar, two pieces
of very pliable rattan about sixty inches long are
doubled around the ring at the middle of the front
of the jar and tied in a Solomon's knot, as already
described (see Fig. 47). The second part of the knot,
however, is not tied as the raffia was in making the
knotted covering for the Indian bowl. Instead,
the end which is on the right after the first knot
has been tied is brought over to the left, above the
middle strands, and the one on the left, coming

Basket-Covered Pottery

133

down over its end, goes back of the middle strands
and up through the loop left in starting the right
strand (see Fig. 48). Another pair of strands of
the same length is tied in this way around
the ring at the middle of the back of the
jar, and a pair at either end. The strands
at the right of the knot in the middle of the
front are then brought beside those at the
left of the group on
the right end, and
these are knotted as
just described, at
about an inch and
three - quarters from
the first row, and at
the corner of the jar.
The remaining strands
of the group on the right end are knotted with
those at the left of the group in the middle of
the back, and so on around the jar. There
will then be four knots, all an inch and three-
quarters from the first row, and each at a
corner of the jar. Three more rows of knot-
ting are made in the same way, and then the
four ends remaining at the front and back after the
fifth row of knots has been made are wet with warm

Fig. 48

134 How to Make Pottery

water until very pliable and tied together under the
jar. Those from the sides are tied in the same
manner and at the same place. All the ends are
bound securely just below these knots with fine
wire, and over this an inch-wide band of raffia.
The ends are cut irregular lengths, the longest
not more than fourteen inches from the bottom
of the jar.

A handle is then made as follows:

A piece of pliable brown rattan, No. 4, about two
yards long, is wet until soft and passed around the
knot nearest the top at one end of the jar. The
ends are brought together and twisted for their
entire length. At the opposite end of the jar they
are brought around the knot nearest the top, turned
up, and firmly bound to the handle with a piece
of wire, which may then be covered with a binding
of raffia.

Take care to make this wire binding secure, for
this is the place where the greatest strain comes.
It is in such places as this that the Oriental crafts-
men show their superiority. Their ends, thus
bound, are bound to stay, while ours sometimes
slip.

Basket-Covered Pottery 135

Jar of Flemish Pottery Inclosed with Pale-Green
Rattan

Materials A jar of Flemish pottery, 4 inches high, ?.\
required : inches in diameter at the bottom and 1 inch

at the top,
About six lengths of No. 00 green rattan.

A little jar of quaint Flemish pottery t charming
in form and colour, is the foundation of this piece.
This ware, which is just becoming known to us, is
interesting in many ways. First of all, for its own
sake — the attractive shapes: candlesticks, bowls,
jugs, jars, and tiles all have the stamp of individu-
ality, rare in any ware that is within reach of the
average purse. The colours are beautiful — deep
greens and blues, soft browns and dull orange for
the most part. Some of the pieces are made by
Belgian school children, others in potteries started
by a club of men in Belgium, followers of Ruskin,
who have revived the craft, employing only Bel-
gians to design and mould the ware. The old
methods are carefully followed — the pieces are
wheel-made, not formed in moulds. Much of the
decoration is done by boys, who make a charming
picture, clad in blouses and sabots, their young
faces all interested and absorbed in the work.

The open - meshed weave of pale-green rattan

136 How to Make Pottery

with which this jar is inclosed only slightly veils
the colour of the glaze — deep-green at the base,
shading through blue to a soft mousy-brown at
the top. The covering is made as follows:

One end of a piece of green No. 00 rattan twenty-
seven inches long is tied into a ring two inches
and a half in diameter. Around this foundation
ring the long end of the rattan is twisted in and
out, until it has made the circuit twice — three
times, counting the foundation ring. Some very
pliable lengths of No. 00 green rattan are cut into
twenty pieces thirty-two inches long. They are
wet until quite soft, and then two of them are
doubled around the ring and tied with a Solomon's
knot (see Fig. 47). Another pair is doubled and
knotted upon the ring, and another, until ten
groups have been attached at intervals around the
circumference. Starting with any one of the
groups, the two strands on the right are brought be-
side the two on the left of the group to the right of
it, and knotted together as described on page 132.
at three-quarters of an inch from the first row of
knots. The two remaining strands of the right-
hand group are brought beside those on the left of
the next group to the right, where another knot is
made, and so on, until the circuit is complete. One

Basket-Covered Pottery 137

more row of knots is made in the same way, three-
quarters of an inch from those in the previous row.
The whole network is then wet thoroughly and
fitted over the lower part of the jar, tying it if neces-
sary, to mould the rattan in to the form. At about
an inch and a half from the last row of knots, a
row of pairing is made with a very pliable piece of
No. 00 green rattan. For the benefit of those who
may not know this simple basket weave, the fol-
lowing directions are given:

Holding the jar with its partial covering of rat-
tan right side up, draw the ends of the strands
remaining after the last row of knots was tied, close
up against the sides of the jar. Double the pliable
piece of No. 00 rattan around a pair of ends which
formed the middle strands of one of the knots.
Taking the upper half of the piece, which seems to
come from behind the two strands (to the left
of them), bring it over them, under the next pair
and out in front. Hold down, with the left hand,
the end you have just used, while with the right
bring the other end (which was on the right of the
first pair of strands) over the next pair of strands
on the right and under the next. It is now held
down in front, while the process is repeated —
always taking the end on the left to weave with.

138

How to Make Pottery

The doubled strands, or spokes, on which these
stitches are woven, should be drawn close together,
till not more than a sixteenth of an inch apart, so
that they will cling to the jar. When the circuit
of the jar has been made, another row is woven.
At the end of this second row both of the weaving
strands are cut, so that their ends will come back
of the last pair of strands in the circuit. For half
an inch the strands are
drawn up toward the top of
the jar without weaving;
then, one row more of the
pairing is made, and after
thoroughly wetting the ends
of the vertical strands the
following border is woven:
Bring each pair of strands
over the next three on the
right under the succeeding
two and outside of the jar. The entire circuit of the
border is made in this way, only leaving the first
part of it loose and open, so that the last strands
can be woven in easily. When finished, the border
is again wet, and its edge made even and true, on
a line with the top of the jar or slightly above it.
The ends of the strands are then cut close to the jar,

Basket-Covered Pottery 139

so as to allow each to lie back of the last strand it
went under. If the covering stands out from the
jar — does not cling as it ought, it should be thor-
oughly wet and bound around with string or raffia,
and firmly tied, until it is dry. Fig. 49 shows the
completed covering.

Green Pottery Bowl with Covering and % Handles of
Green Rattan

Materials A green pottery bowl 5I inches in diameter at
required: the upper edge and 3^ at the bottom,

30 pieces of pale-green No. 00 rattan 48 inches
long,

2 lengths of pale-green No. 00 rattan.

This green bowl, inclosed with a knotted cover-
ing of pale-green rattan, may be used as a hanging
flower-pot or for cut flowers. The original was a
piece of deep-green Spanish pottery, but if one can
make the bowl, so much the better — as long as the
dimensions are those given above. In starting,
fifteen pieces of No. 00 green rattan which have
been wet until quite soft and pliable are laid side
by side in a group which is doubled at its centre,
and the ends tied securely together, about two
inches from where it was doubled. One group of
ends, containing fifteen pieces, is made flat and
even, and then separated into three groups of five

140 - How to Make Pottery

pieces each and braided in a three-stranded plait
ten and a half inches long. It is then tied securely.
The other group is separated and braided in the
same way, keeping the strands flat and the plaiting
close and even. Fifteen more pieces of rattan of
the same size and length (which have been wet
until pliable) are now passed through the loop
made by doubling the other pieces, bent at the
middle and tied as the others were, two inches
from the place where they were doubled.

The ends of these pieces are also braided in two
plaits for ten and a half inches and then tied
firmly.

Holding the braids so that the ends of the strands
turn up, and starting at about two inches from
where the braiding stops, a pliable piece of No. oo
rattan is doubled around the pair of ends on the
left of one of the groups, and is woven in pairing
upon these ends and those succeeding them — keep-
ing them about half an inch apart. As there is an
uneven number of ends in each group, the fifteenth
one is brought beside the first end in the next group,
and the pairing woven upon them (see Fig. 50).
Thus it goes on, until the circuit has been made,
when the bowl is fitted into the ring (the braided
handles, of course, turning up ; and the ring about

Basket-Covered Pottery

141

an inch below the top of the bowl). If the ring is
too loose, the stitches may be wet and drawn up a
little ; if too tight, they are wet and stretched. Two
more rows are woven with the handles turning
down ; then the work is reversed, so that the unfin-
ished ends shall turn down. The ends are wet
until soft and pliable, and at three-quarters of an
inch from the last row of
pairing they are tied
into a row of the knots
described on page 132.
A second row of knots
is made at an inch from
the first. The case is
then fitted over the
bowl and wet if it is
necessary in order to
mould it in to fit the
shape. Turn the bowl upside down, and at
half an inch from the last row of knotting double a
pliable piece of No. 00 rattan around a pair of ends
anywhere on the circumference of the covering and
weave one row of pairing, drawing the ends of the
strands in, to fit the bottom of the bowl. This will
bring them about three-eighths of an inch apart.
Another row of pairing is woven, and then a base

Fig. 50

142

How to Make Pottery

is made as follows: After the ends have been wet
until pliable, start with any one of the pairs,
bringing it over the first pair on the right, under
the second, over the third, and under the fourth,
taking care to leave the base loose and open where
it begins, that the last strands may be easily woven
in (see Fig. 51). The next pair of ends on the right
is woven in the same way over the first on its right,

Fig. 5:

under the second, over the third, and under the
fourth. So it goes on around the bowl until the
time comes to weave in the last strands, which
will not be difficult if the caution in regard to leav-
ing the beginning open and loose has been heeded.
When the base is finished, wet it thoroughly, and
draw up the strands or let them out until the edge
is even and on a line with the bottom of the bowl.

Basket-Covered Pottery 143

The ends of the strands are then cut so that the
tip of each will lie behind the last strand it went
under.

Three-Handled Bowl for Plants or Flowers

Materials About 3$ pounds of clay,
required; A plaster mould for a bowl,

The wooden modelling tools,

The oval tools of sheet steel,

The sharp-pointed steel tool,

A bunch of raffia.

This charming bowl for a growing plant or cut
flowers may either be used as a centrepiece on a
table, or suspended by a heavy raffia braid in the
recess of a window or on the porch. The dull gray-
green mat -glaze with which it is finished harmon-
ises delightfully with the colours of growing things.

It is formed in a bowl-shaped plaster mould in the
same way as the rose-bowl described in Chapter
VII. and the bowl for a lamp in Chapter VI., but
the bottom is made unusually thick (three-quarters
of an inch) to allow for cutting away, as the form
is as nearly a hemisphere as possible, only flattened
slightly at the bottom.

When the bowl has been built up to within an
inch, perhaps, of the top of the mould, if it is not a
deep one, make the next coil free from the sides of

144 How to Make Pottery

the mould — almost vertical, in fact The coil that
succeeds it slopes in ever so slightly.

This will make the shape deep enough. It is
now necessary to let the bowl harden enough so
that it can easily be slipped out of the mould. The
hollows between the coils, after they have been wet
with slip, are filled in with clay of the consistency
of the bowl. The bowl is again set away to
harden, and then smoothed and finished, as de-
scribed in previous chapters, aiming to trim it as
nearly as possible to the form of a half-sphere.
After the edge has been cut as nearly true as possi-
ble by eye, it is made
absolutely even by the
process described in

.p Chapter II.

Fig. 52 ^

Three handles are cut
from a flat piece of clay about three inches
wide by sixteen long and half an inch thick,
in the shape shown in Fig. 52, and attached
as follows: The circumference of the top of the
bowl is divided into thirds and marked with a
tool or pencil. It is then an easy matter to place
the handles so that the centre of each shall be just
above one of the marks on the top edge. At the
points where the handles are to be attached, the

Basket-Covered Pottery 145

top of the bowl is criss-crossed with the pointed
steel tool and wet with slip. The handles are then
placed in position, and their edges worked closely
against the top and sides of the bowl with the flat
of the nail. They should be curved in a little to
follow the lines of the bowl (see Plate).

After the inside has been glazed with the glossy
mixture mentioned in Chapter V., a mat -glaze of
gray green will complete the bowl. The three
raffia ropes by which the bowl is suspended are
made as follows:

Thirty strands of natural-coloured raffia are
doubled around one of the handles, and the ends
are braided in a three-stranded plait for twelve
inches, where they are tied. Two other braids are
made on the other handles in the same way, and
when they are twelve inches long the strands from
all three braids are united in a thick loop.

Indian Pottery

CHAPTER XI

INDIAN POTTERY

In no other country can primitive pottery be so
conveniently studied as in ours. Within our
borders, he who digs may read the history of clay-
working from the earliest days. Those who are
denied this study at first hand will find in museums
plenty of material — quaint bowls and jars, some
of them smoke- stained and cracked, but all wonder-
fully well preserved when one thinks of their age.
From the rudest pots, made by inferior tribes, we
can trace the progress of the craft gradually
advancing until, in the pottery found in or near
Mexico, we see what may be considered the
masterpieces of American ceramic art.

In the United States, the pottery of the Pueblo
tribes ranks first, and, close to that, the charming
wares of the Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast.

There are many tribes which are still practising
the craft, some following the old methods, while
others, influenced by the white man, are making
149

150 How to Make Pottery

ware of little interest to the student of primitive
pottery. The Indians of the Pueblo country are

Fig. 53

using almost the same processes as those of
ancient days.

The pottery of different sections of the country

Fig. 54

varies in material, form, colour, and decoration.
That the ware of a certain tribe was crude and im-

Indian Pottery

*5i

Fig- 55

perfect does not necessarily indicate that the
people who made it were inferior in culture, but
that the natural conditions were not tavourable to
pottery - making. A
tribe living near clay-
beds would as natur-
ally make good pot-
tery as one around
whose homes materials
for basket -making
grew in abundance
would excel in that
craft. Perhaps, on the

whole, the pottery of the South is more advanced
than that of the Northern tribes, probably because

of the difference in
climate. While the
people of the North
were wandering hunt-
ers for the most part,
those of the South were
more prosperous and
stay - at - home, and
would be likely to have more wants than the
Northern tribes, with leisure to gratify them.
As to the uses to which the Indians put their

Fig. 56

152 How to Make Pottery

pottery; most of the pieces show with simple
straightforwardness what purposes they served.
In only a few cases is there any doubt — notably
some spool-shaped articles of clay, found in the
Ohio Valley. At first, pottery was chiefly used
for the storing, cooking, and carrying of water
and food; taking the place, in some degree, of
vessels of wicker, horn, and stone. This has
always remained its most important function.

Earthen vessels were
employed in religious
and other ceremonies,
and earthen tools were
often made, while there
are, besides the myriads
FIG. S7 of pipes, a host of small

clay vessels and figures
which were evidently toys or used in games
(See Figs. 53 and 54). It is interesting to note the
difference between our cooking-pots and those of
this primitive people. Theirs have almost in-
variably a round or cone-shaped base (See Fig. 55),
which Prof. W. H. Holmes explains was natural,
as, among barbarous nations, hard, level floors were
the exception, while those of sand and soft earth
were the rule. Under those conditions, the

Indian Pottery

153

rounded base would be much the best. In putting
the pot over the fire, the fuel or other supports
kept it in position. Often cooking- vessels were
made with short, strong handles (See Fig. 56) or a
flaring rim, so that they could be conveniently
swung over the fire with vines or cords. In
certain parts of the country where the Indians
made salt by evaporating the water from saline
springs, large vat-shaped vessels of clay are found

Fig. 58

which were evidently moulded for the purpose.
They are peculiar because of their size and the
great thickness of the walls, while almost invari-
ably they have, on the outer surface, markings
which seem to have been impressed with a woven
fabric.

Other Indians made maple sugar, using earthen
vessels to collect and boil the sap.

154

How to Make Pottery

Numbers of the early writers tell of the use of
clay vessels for drums, and earthen whistles and
rattles are common to-day (see Figs. 57 and 58).
A curious-shaped implement, somewhat like a
toadstool, was evidently a modelling tool — to
support the walls of a partially stiffened piece of

pottery from within,
while the outer surface
was finished with other
tools.

In the lower Missis-
sippi Valley clays were
employed in plastering
the walls of cave dwel-
lings, as well as for the
floors.

As burial urns, pot-
tery bowls and vases were often made use of.
Not so often, however, for holding the ashes
of the dead as for the skull and other bones,
which were crowded into a single jar, or bowl,
such as was common in the household. This
was covered with a smaller vessel (see Fig. 59).
Sometimes several of these bowls surrounded and
covered the bones. Occasionally, an earthen
casket seems to have been made especially for the

Fig. 59

Indian Pottery 155

purpose. There have been found, beside these
burial vessels in the Indian graves, smaller recep-
tacles for food, and even rude toys. The latter
were usually animal forms — figurines, images of
fish, turtles, and birds. It is surmised that these
were offerings made with the expectation of their
being of service to the dead in a future life.

Unlike the Egyptians, the Indians made little
use of clay in moulding beads and other personal

Fig. 60

ornaments. They evidently did not find it gay
enough in colour, not knowing the secret of the
brilliant enamels with which the early Egyptian
potters coated their clays. Pipes, while they were
often made of stone and other substances, were in
some parts of the country moulded from clay, and
ranged in form from a simple tube to curious and
grotesque shapes. Those made by the Iroquois
were particularly elaborate — a head of an animal

'56

How to Make Pottery

One would have

or bird formed the bowl, or a snake coiled about it
(see Fig. 60).

thought that, in making
their clay pots, which
were primarily planned
to serve useful purposes,
and were, moreover,
somewhat perishable, no
attention would have
been given to decora-
tion; yet this is far
from being the case.
Bowls, cups, and cauld-
rons, water - jars and
bottles (see Figs. 61 and
62) were often elaborately incised with beautiful
and intricate designs. The forms, too, were simple
and good.

The clay used at first was such as could be found
almost anywhere near the surface, and conse-
quently was full of impurities. Later, however, clean
clays were much sought after, and no pains were
spared to grind and work them into good condition.
This was done with the feet or hands, or both.
As the craft advanced, potters began to temper
their clay with other ingredients, according to the

Fig. 61

INDIAN POTTERY

The black pitcher on the right is of Smta Clara ware,
tenaja made by a Zufii.

Beside it is a water-cooler or

Indian Pottery

i57

use to which the vessel was to be put. For
instance, the clay for toys and the smaller vessels
needed no tempering. Pipes were made of such
clay, or of one tempered with a finely ground
substance, while cooking-pots and cauldrons, which
were subjected to constant heat, were made of
clay containing a large amount of coarser temper-
ing ingredients. Some of the tempering agents
were rock, sand, pulverised shell, bits of baked
pottery, cinders, ashes
of bark, and even raw
vegetal materials. The
heat at which the pieces
were fired was rarely
strong enough to
change any of the min-
eral substances in the
clay.

In shaping the pieces,
the fingers did the work
unaided, except where a
basket or gourd was
used as a mould, or

where such simple tools as could be fashioned of
clay, stone, or shell were employed. A piece of a
gourd was sometimes held against the inner wall

Fig. 62

158 How to Make Pottery

to support it while the outer surface was being
scraped and smoothed with these rude tools.

The bottom of the piece was formed either from
a small lump of clay patted and moulded into
proper shape by the fingers, or with the end of a
clay strip which was coiled around on itself. In
whichever way the bottom was begun, the walls
were made of coils of clay. The ancient Cliff
Dwellers, or Pueblos, used this method very
skilfully. Their strips of clay were cut and
coiled with great exactness, and the edges over-
lapping on the outside made spiral markings.
There are no evidences of anything like the potter's
wheel* the nearest approach being the basket-
mould, which was probably turned with one hand
as the coil of clay was applied with the other.

The markings of cords and weaving which are
often seen on the outer surfaces of Indian pots and
vases were probably made by pliable fabrics,
which were used to support the piece as it was
formed. Woven textures were also wrapped over
the hand, or a tool, to impress the wet clay, and
cords wound about paddles or other tools made
similar impressions. In some cases, the outer
surface was rubbed smooth with the fingers and
thumb, or with a stone; in others, the coil structure

hidian Pottery 159

is plainly seen. After the body of the piece was
finished, the rim was perfected, and the handles,
legs, or other parts in relief were applied. These
were made separately, and were attached by
pressure and rubbing.

In decoration, the potters of each tribe had
different ideas, as well as tools and devices for
working them out. The fingers and nails were
used to produce certain effects, and tools of various
kinds were made for special purposes — pointed ones
for incising, gouge-like tools to scrape away the
clay, and all kinds of stamps for impressed de-
signs. Some of the stamps were in paddle form
(such as we use for making butter-balls), others
were thin disks with indented edges, which were
rolled over the soft clay surface.

Incised designs were perhaps the most usual,
though colour was often employed in decorating
the ware. Especially was this the case in the
Pueblo country and in Arkansas. The colours
were white, brown, red, and black, and they were
mostly powdered clay, sometimes mixed with
ochres. The surface of the piece first received a
wash of fine paste, and afterward the colours,
ground fine and mixed with water, were applied
with the finger or a piece or reed-grass. The

160 How to Make Pottery

designs were generally made by the women.
Circles and curved designs were most used, prob-
ably because they could be made with such
freedom, in contrast to the slow and painstaking
process of weaving right-angled designs into
baskets.

The pottery was dried in the shade, in the sun,

or before the fire, and
afterward baked more
or less thoroughly.
Some tribes — the Ca-
tawbas, for example —
simply baked their
ware before the fire,
pIG 63 while others covered

the pieces with burning
bark or other fuel, surrounding them evenly with
it inside and out. The pieces were protected from
contact with each other by broken pieces of
pottery. They were carefully kept from draughts
during the firing and the first part of the cooling,
for fear of cracking.

Among the Cherokees, a glossy black was given
to the inner surface of the pottery by what was
known as smother-firing. When the process of
baking, just described, was completed, the vessel

Indian Pottery 161

was turned bottom up, over a small hole in the
ground, which had been filled with burning corn-
cobs. From time to time the fuel was renewed
until in half an hour the inside of the piece had
become glistening black.

It is to be regretted that, among the Indians,
this art, like that of basketry, is passing. The

Fig. 64

coming of civilisation has brought iron and tin
cooking - vessels and ordinary tableware to take
the place of the bowls, platters, and cups, the
jars and bottles of clay, so full of individual charm.
Not only to the collector and the student of
ethnology is Indian pottery of value; the potter
of to-day finds much that is helpful and suggestive

1 62 How to Make Pottery

in primitive processes, as well as in the forms and
decoration.

A study of the range of shapes and designs in
Indian pottery is a revelation to many who have
thought of the Indian as an ignorant savage.
Aside from its beauty and decorative value, the
uses to which Indian pottery can be put in our
homes are many. The great bowl shown in the

plate suggests one
delightful way of util-
ising this ware. Foli-
age plants of any
size, from a tiny
cactus, which seems
to find a bowl with a
rounded base the
most comfortable of abiding places, to a great
spreading fern, harmonise with the Indian
colours. So will flowering plants, except those
which have red, pink, or purple blossoms; and
what a relief these plant-bowls are to the eye
after some of the jardinieres one sees !

Large bowls are useful, too, for holding fruit on
the porch of a country house, while smaller ones
serve as nut - bowls. Low plaque-shaped pieces
make excellent card-trays, and the small bowls

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Indian Pottery 163

hold matches. There are curious little pieces in the
form of shoes made by the Indians of New Mexico.
These also are useful for matches or cigar ashes
(see Fig. 63). Last and least, though only in size,
is the toy pottery — money -banks in the form of
well-fed pigs, whistles, and toy dishes, cups, jugs,
and plates — bewitching alike to little girls and
big. A few of them are shown in Figs. 64 and 65.
They are Indian red and creamy yellow in colour,
with designs of black, and rarely are two of them
alike.

Fashions change in pottery as well as in other
things, and freakish forms which please us to-day
may be ridiculed to-morrow; but primitive wares
have an enduring value. Pieces that were moulded
for service, by potters whose love for nature and
its beauties must needs express itself even on the
decoration of a cooking-pot, will last long after
the ware that is made only for money has gone
back to the ground from whence it came.

Modern American Pottery

CHAPTER XII

MODERN AMERICAN POTTERY

One of the most encouraging signs of the
advance in taste among American people is to be
found in their appreciation of the pottery which
is now being made in this country. Time was
when majolica jardinieres and Austrian china,
with their high colours and glassy glazes, were
things to be desired. Happily, they are going the
way of plush-covered "suites" of furniture and
crazy -quilts.

Much of the simplicity of method and design in
American pottery comes from the study of primi-
tive processes, shapes, and decorations. Indian
ware, though of less value than some others to
the student of ceramics, on account of its softness
of body and unglazed surface, is nevertheless full
of artistic feeling and suggestion to makers of
pottery. There are many evidences also of
French and Japanese influence.

In various parts of the country, true art pottery
167

1 68 How to Make Pottery

is being made — each ware with its own individuality
and more or less characteristic of the section of
the country from whence it comes. As yet but
little tableware has been attempted at these
potteries — the Dedham being almost the only
one where it is made.

Modern pottery is either moulded by hand,
thrown on the potter's wheel, or cast in moulds.
After it has been formed, it is generally decorated,
either by the artist-potter himself or by some young
man or woman who has learned design as applied
to pottery. The decoration is either painted with
colours which have been mixed with clays, like
some of the Rookwood ware, or incised, modelled
in relief, or built up, as the Volkmar pottery.

After it is quite dry, the pot is fired in the great
kiln, this time without glazing, or in the biscuit.
It is then glazed, and fired for the second time.

The philosophical potter — and every potter
needs philosophy — will not despair if, in the
second firing, the piece is not satisfactory. He
glazes it again, with every care, in time for the
next firing, and is often rewarded by having this
ugly duckling of one kiln turn out the swan of
the next.

Among the pioneers of art pottery in this

Modem American Pottery 169

country was Mrs. Maria Longworth Storer, a
Cincinnati woman, who in 1880 opened a pottery
called by the name of her father's place, Rook-
wood. Mrs. Storer had, in addition to an artistic
temperament, the patience and determination, as
well as the financial resources, necessary to such
an undertaking. The first kiln of the new pottery
was drawn on Thanksgiving Day. By 1889, the
pottery had become self-supporting. Rookwood
has always been a distinctively American pottery.
From the first, native clays were used, and their
possibilities were discovered with the firing of each
new kiln. Clays that fire at a comparatively low
heat were used at first, and this necessitated
employing the soft glazes. Later, the yellow, or
Rockingham, ware formed the body of the pieces,
and now a creamy -white body is used, which
produces a strong and beautiful pottery. This is
finished with a mat- glaze. At first, the tint of the
native clay inclined the colour scheme to warm
browns, yellows, and reds. This ware was deco-
rated with flower or figure designs under a brilliant
glaze. It is known as Standard Rookwood.
The Tiger Eye and Goldstone are other wares with
glaze effects not unlike the Standard Rookwood.
Both of these have dark grounds with an occasional

170 How to Make Pottery

luminous gleam of gold — one of the interesting
accidents of the kiln. Other varieties of Rook-
wood, in the order of their development, were
Sea Green, in which an opalescent green effect is
sometimes relieved with a touch of yellow or red,
and Iris, which has the creamy -white body already
referred to. This enables the potter to produce
gray tones in his glazes. In Rookwood, which
is coated with the flowing glaze, there is a quality
not unlike some of the old Chinese wares. It has
a richness of texture luminous and beautiful.
The decorations are painted in relief, so simply
that the glaze flows charmingly over them. There
is also a variety of the Rookwood pottery with a
mat-glaze. In this, the process is entirely different
from that used in making the other kinds of
Rookwood. The glaze is of the greatest im-
portance, the forms are simple, sometimes almost
rugged, and the decorations are subordinate.
There are even pieces entirely undecorated, which
depend upon their beauty of colour and texture
alone. Decorations adapted from Indian designs
are often modelled in relief or incised. Occasion-
ally, metals are applied. Mantels, wall-panels,
drinking -fountains, and architectural reliefs are
also made of the Rookwood faience.

Modern American Pottery 171

Many are the potters' marks that have been
used at Rookwood. Before 1886 there were eight
in all. At that time, the mark shown in Fig. 66
was adopted. This was used, with the addition of
a flame mark for every succeed-
ing year, until 1900, when the
mark was like Fig. 67. Since
that date, a Roman numeral has
been added below the mark,
according to the year the piece
was made. For example, the
pieces of the present year have the Roman num-
ber IV. below the mark used in 1900.

A comparatively near neighbour of Rookwood
is the Gates pottery, near
Chicago, where Teco ware is

S^SfE k ^^" made. The potter's love for
L ■ Jw ^^ his work, and the potter's
#XIa^ zeal to produce something
^W B w more perfect and beautiful

„ . than he had ever done be-

riG. 07

fore, led William D. Gates,
who had long made terra cotta for architectural
purposes, to experiment with clays and glazes until
finally Teco ware was evolved. It is a hard, durable
pottery built on simple lines. Western artists and

172 How to Make Pottery

architects of note have contributed designs and
forms for this ware, and, for the most part, the
pieces are beautiful and restful to the eye. The
few incised or moulded decorations are not made
prominent, but are suggested rather than sharply-
defined. Over all is a mat-glaze of soft, wax-like
texture in green — the green that makes one
think of weathered bronze.

Set in a picturesque valley, surrounded by
flowers, and near a little lake, the Gates potteries
are so situated as to inspire the artist potters who
mould the forms and decorate the ware. It has
been the aim of the makers of Teco pottery to
produce a ware that shall be satisfying and beauti-
ful, and yet of comparatively slight cost.

It is a far journey from these potteries to the
three New England cities where are the Grueby,
Dedham, and Merrimac potteries. Grueby ware,
which was first made in Boston in 1898, is re-
markable for the glaze, which was discovered by
Mr. William H. Grueby. Although, for many
years, dull-finished pottery has been produced by
sand-blasting ware with a glossy finish, or by
taking a piece of glazed pottery and treating it
with acid, to make it dull, the Grueby potteries
were the first in the history of ceramics to make a

Modern American Pottery 173

dull-finished pottery in their kilns. The surface
thus obtained has a deep, velvety look, unlike any
other finish made — such as that which was pos-
sessed by old Corean pottery. The ware was first
exhibited in Paris, in 1900, where it made quite
a sensation, and the French Government awarded
the Grueby Potteries a gold medal for enamels
and glazes, as well as a silver medal for design, and
gave Mr. Grueby personally a gold medal for the
work he had accomplished in dull-finished enamels.
The forms are simple and good, and the decorations,
which are incised or modelled in relief, are planned
so that the glaze shall flow well over them. Com-
mon plant forms, such as the mullein leaf, blades
of grass, plantain, and the enfolding leaves of the
lily, are the motives for these designs. There is
a delicacy — one might almost say a reserve — in
their treatment that is rare and very interesting.
The pottery is hard, and the glaze such as is
applicable to a ware which fires at a great heat.
The colours of Grueby pottery are beautiful and
rich, ranging from an old ivory tint to golden
yellows, russet browns, and velvety blues and a
variety of green shades. The texture of the
glaze is soft, like the bloom of a melon, and it has
an unusual network of markings. No moulds are

174 How to Make Pottery

used in making this pottery; it is all thrown on
the wheel, and, as in the old wares, no two pieces
are exactly alike.

Besides its beauty and artistic value, the fact
that the Grueby pottery is made in forms that are
useful makes it doubly desirable Among lamp-
jars, particularly, there is the greatest variety.
These are made both for oil and electricity. In
the Grueby-TifTany lamp, two charming products
of applied arts are combined — the jar being Grueby
ware, and the leaded or blown-glass shade of
Tiffany design and workmanship.

The Dedham pottery is remarkable for many
reasons, chief among them being the fact that it
is, as already stated, almost the only place in this
country where art tableware is made. Some of
this ware, which is popularly known as the Bunny
china, has lifelike little rabbits on the border,
other pieces have designs of ducks, and others
still have borders of fruit. The wonderful Oriental
glazes that are used on pieces of Dedham ware
were re-discovered by Mr. Hugh C. Robertson.
The best-known glaze of this pottery, however, is
the gray crackle -ware with designs of blue.

At the Merrimac pottery, in Newburyport, an
excellent ware is made. A few of the pieces are

Modern American Pottery 175

moulded, but the majority are thrown on the
potter's wheel. Little decoration is used, the
charm of the ware being its form and colour.

Among the most remarkable of the artist pot-
ters of this country is Mr. Charles Volkmar, of
the Volkmar Kilns, in Metuchen, New Jersey.
An artist to his finger-tips, he has a potter's
thumb which is the envy of all those who were
less evidently born to the craft. Mr. Volkmar
studied not only art, but his craft as well, in
Paris, wearing the blouse of a workman in the
potteries, where he learned so admirably how to
work in clay that there are few in this country
who approach him. The ware made by Mr.
Volkmar and his son, Mr. Leon Volkmar, is re-
markable for the simple beauty of its forms and
for the quality of its glazes. The body of the ware
is pale yellow, and it is exceedingly hard and
durable. Years ago, Mr. Volkmar made a fine
blue-and-white ware, which was decorated with
historical scenes. His pieces now are for the
most part finished with a mat -glaze, although
some have a glossy transparent surface. All are
beautiful in colour. Here is where the artist
shows preeminently. The deep, rich texture of
the mat-glaze softens, but does not hide, the simple

176 How to Make Pottery

incised or built-up designs. The pierced designs of
Volkmar pottery are decorative and strong.
This ware is as practical to use as it is charming to
look at. The flower-jars are in tones that har-
monise delightfully with the blossoms that fill
them, and the jugs have flowing and graceful lines,
and yet are substantial and of generous proportions.
The plate shows a few pieces of this ware. The
piece on the left is a pale yellowish-brown, with a
glossy finish; this is suitable for a lamp-bowl or
for flowers. Beside it is a sturdy little mug, with
a deep green mat-glaze. The next jar is finished
with a dull blue transparent glaze, and the taller
vase-shaped piece on the right has a mat-glaze of
pale gray-green. Not far from the Volkmar
Kilns, at Woodbridge, New Jersey, is the Poillon
pottery, where garden ware is made. Great tree-
and plant-tubs, sun-dial stands, well-curbs, and
window-ledge boxes are a few of the things that
come from this pottery. The forms of these
pieces are substantial and good. Some excellent
indoor pottery is also moulded — candlesticks,
toilet sets, jugs, and flower-bowls — a host of
useful and attractive shapes, coated with a flowing
glaze. The ware is finished in a variety of colours,
yellow being one of the most successful. The

Modern American Pottery 177

Poillon potteries have designed special earthen-
ware for country clubs — lamps, toilet sets, ash-
trays, match - bowls ; all uniform in colour and
design, and each specially adapted in form to the
use for which it is intended.

The work of the Brush Guild of New York is
more like Indian pottery than any other^ of the
American wares. The pieces all have a hand-
moulded look, and the few designs are quite
primitive in their simplicity. The glossy -black
finish suggests Indian smother -firing. It is not
unlike the black pottery which the Santa Clara
Indians make, and the great generous pieces are
also suggestive of this ware. Unlike any Indian
pottery, however, the bowls and jars of the
Brush Guild will hold water perfectly.

From the far South comes an exceedingly
interesting ware : this is the Newcomb pottery, made
by the students of Newcomb College, New Orleans.
It may be seen at exhibitions of arts and crafts
guilds here in the North. The ware originated
in tlie art department of Newcomb College.
Jffere, for years, teachers of drawing and painting
had been educated, but it began to be manifest
that, with the lack of other fields for art workers,
this department could not be widely useful.

178 How to Make Pottery

The establishment of a pottery was the practical
solution of this difficulty. Many young women
have found, in the making of this pottery, an
artistic vocation from which they reap profit and
reputation. The aim of the originators from the
first has been to make a ware that would be
individual — one that should have a charm all its
own. This has been accomplished by taking as
motives for the designs the unusual and beautiful
Southern flowers, plants, and trees, as well as the
animal life of that part of the country. A charm-
ing pitcher has a design of snow-drops, painted in
cream-white slip on a yellow-gray background.
Another piece has a decoration of fishes, and on
still another, a high, slender flower-jar, stalks of
the sugar-cane form the design.

The methods of decoration are incising, painting,
and modelling, used together or singly, according
to the requirements of the design. Great freedom
is allowed in the choice of colour as well as in the
decoration, each worker feeling the responsibility
attached to a signed piece of pottery. Some of
the ware is undecorated save for the unexpected
touches of the kiln, which give charming and
unusual effects.

The mark shown in Fig. 68 distinguishes the

A PIECE OF NEWCOMB POTTERY

Modern American Pottery 179

Newcomb pottery, and only those pieces receive it
which are approved by the art department.

Individual work of merit is being produced
every year in this country,
and it will not be long before
the solitary potter of to-day,
moulding his pieces and testing
his glazes in some little work-
shop, like a brown chrysalis,
will perfect his ware; so that Fig. 68

the tiny workshop will expand into a great
building, and another beautiful ware will be
added to modern American pottery.

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